Pakistan imposes emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan placed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under emergency rule on Sunday after anti-government demonstrations and militant violence in the northwest, the president's office said.

President Asif Ali Zardari signed the order after recommendations about the law-and-order situation and the failure of talks with government delegations, his office said. The move was invoked under two articles of Pakistan's constitution dealing with security and gives the federal government broad administrative powers over the northern province.

Thousands of supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have been marching in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to demand his release and to voice anti-government criticism driven by harsh economic conditions.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a stronghold of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. The PTI-led provincial government will be sidelined under the constitutional measures.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said earlier that the decision had been taken because of the “deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” and what it called the provincial government's “deliberate indifference in the war against terrorism”.

PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan called the move “an extremely alarming and grave political mistake and an undemocratic measure” in a post on X, adding that people would not accept actions against their rights.

An AFP reporter saw an increased security presence in Peshawar, the provincial capital, on Sunday. Roads in other cities in the province also remained closed.

PTI supporters began “long march” demonstrations between towns and cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a week ago after talks with the government broke down. Their demands included access to Khan by his doctors.

Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and faces scores of charges ranging from corruption to treason and inciting violence after anti-establishment riots in May that year. Khan and his legal team reject the allegations, saying the cases are politically motivated.

Pakistan also faces a separate security challenge. It has blamed increased attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on militancy emanating from Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul denies the claims and criticises Pakistan for violating Afghanistan's sovereignty and killing civilians.

The accusations have fuelled a bitter rift and armed conflict between the neighbours. Afghanistan and Pakistan went to war in February, and sporadic attacks have continued since a truce was reached in March without a permanent security resolution.