Troops to deploy as federal government cites provincial militancy failures
President Asif Ali Zardari issued the emergency declaration on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a cabinet decision, the president’s office said. Sharif told the cabinet that security forces and citizens had been under attack for two years. “We can’t just act as a silent spectator,” he said.
The suspension handed federal authority over the only province PTI had controlled since the 2024 election. Tarar told a news conference in Islamabad that the governor would initially be in place for six months but could remain longer if needed. Pakistan’s constitution allows the federal government to assume control of provincial affairs during a state of emergency.
The federal government and Pakistan’s military have accused PTI of failing to curb militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan and has seen an increasing number of militant attacks in recent months. PTI has rejected the charge and said Islamabad has not provided the funding and equipment provincial authorities need.
The standoff escalated a week after PTI supporters gathered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa intending to march on the capital. Hundreds of activists and three of Khan’s sisters were detained before the planned march, in what PTI called one of the strongest crackdowns in years. Authorities in Islamabad deployed tens of thousands of security forces and lined roads with shipping containers to block protesters from reaching parliament.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the JUI-F party and engaged by the government to mediate with PTI, also condemned the action. “Imposition of emergency is an ambush on democracy,” he told a news conference in Islamabad.
Khan, a 74-year-old former cricket star, faces cases concerning state gifts, allegations of instigating violence, and an accusation of unlawful marriage; all but one conviction have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He has denied wrongdoing. His supporters say Pakistan’s military rigged the 2024 election against him, an allegation the military denies. Candidates backed by his PTI won the most seats in that election but formed a government only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Restrictions have been placed on the movements of Sohail Afridi, who had previously been in charge of the province, one of his close aides told Reuters. Islamabad also accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who launch attacks inside Pakistan and says PTI has sympathized with the Taliban in Kabul and its domestic affiliates. Both the Taliban and PTI deny the charge.