Hours after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari imposed emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, governed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), former Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and provincial party president Junaid Akbar were detained, while former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur was placed under house arrest on Sunday.
The move has intensified the confrontation between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government and the PTI, which has accused Islamabad of undermining the province's elected mandate. The emergency follows allegations that the provincial administration failed to tackle rising militancy, a charge the party has rejected.
The PTI's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leadership announced Gandapur's detention in a statement on X, calling it an attempt to intimidate the party. "The former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, has been placed under house arrest by the Dera Ismail Khan police. This is an extremely regrettable and condemnable act. We will not be intimidated by all this. The struggle will continue."
The emergency was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the PTI sought to build pressure on the federal government for Khan's release. The party has been organising a march towards Islamabad, raising concerns within the government about potential demonstrations in the capital.
PAKISTAN TO DEPLOY TROOPS IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
Pakistan's Interior Ministry has ordered the deployment of military troops in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan and has faced repeated attacks by militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the security situation had deteriorated significantly in some districts.
"The situation is so grave that you wouldn't see any residents coming out of their houses after evening in some of the districts," Naqvi said.
The Pakistan government maintains that the provincial administration failed to respond adequately to the militant threat. Sharif's office said the federal cabinet had taken note of the "provincial government's deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism".
He told the cabinet that the government could not remain passive in the face of continued attacks on security personnel and civilians. "We can't just act a silent spectator," Sharif said.
Islamabad has also accused Khan's party of sympathising with militant groups and the Afghan Taliban. Both the PTI and the Afghan Taliban have rejetced the allegations.
PTI CALLS EMERGENCY AS ATTACK ON ELECTORAL MANDATE
Condemning the imposition of emergency rule, PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan described it as an undemocratic move that threatened provincial autonomy and residents' constitutional rights.
"We strongly condemn the imposition of emergency in the province in the strongest possible terms and completely reject this action. This is an extremely alarming and serious political mistake and an undemocratic step— the people will never accept such actions against their rights," he said.
"The mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is their constitutional and legal right. Peace cannot be established, nor stability brought, by ignoring this mandate, weakening provincial autonomy, and creating conflict between the federation and the province," Gohar Khan added. The party has argued that the federal government cannot restore security by sidelining elected representatives. PTI leaders have also accused Islamabad of using the fight against militancy to weaken their political position.
Zulfikar Bukhari, an aide to Khan and the party's spokesperson, described the emergency as a "coup disguised as emergency".
WHAT CHANGES AFTER EMERGENCY RULE IN KP?
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lies at the intersection of Pakistan's political turmoil and its fight against militancy. A stronghold of Imran Khan’s PTI and a frontline province bordering Afghanistan, it has become the battleground in the struggle between Islamabad and the opposition, with the emergency takeover raising fresh questions about provincial autonomy, democratic representation and the federal government’s approach to security.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the emergency on the advice of Sharif after a federal cabinet decision. The move effectively suspended the elected provincial administration led by PTI chief minister Sohail Afridi. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said a provincial governor would take charge with an advisory council, initially for six months.
The emergency was imposed under Articles 232 and 234 of Pakistan's Constitution, which provide for federal intervention in provincial affairs under specified circumstances involving security threats or a breakdown of constitutional governance. The government has not presented the move as a suspension of all fundamental rights. Constitutional procedures also require parliamentary scrutiny and approval for emergency measures and governor's rule.
