Federal authorities have taken direct control of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, plunging the region into a constitutional shift after talks collapsed between the central government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. According to Al Jazeera, President Asif Ali Zardari signed a proclamation on Sunday, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to impose a state of emergency.
According to Al Jazeera, federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar stated at a news conference in Islamabad that the fundamental grounds for the emergency are law and order, the fight against terrorism, and the protection of innocent people. Junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry reported on Monday that provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had been placed under detention, as detailed by Al Jazeera.
Background
According to Al Jazeera, the PTI party had governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2013. The federal intervention followed the breakdown of negotiations between the central government and PTI regarding a planned protest march to Islamabad demanding the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Under the proclamation signed by President Zardari, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi—who belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), an ally of Prime Minister Sharif's government—will assume the functions of the provincial government, according to Al Jazeera. Parliament, where Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the PPP, and their allies hold a majority, takes over the powers of the provincial assembly where PTI held a majority. The official proclamation states that the chief minister, ministers, advisers, special assistants, and the advocate general shall forthwith cease to hold office, Al Jazeera reported.
However, Lahore-based lawyer and LUMS adjunct faculty member Hassan Abdullah Niazi offered a different interpretation to Al Jazeera, noting that this does not mean the provincial assembly or its elected chief minister have been permanently removed. Instead, he described it as being akin to considering them dysfunctional until the emergency is lifted, at which point they must be restored, according to Al Jazeera. The army, which is already deployed in the province, is expected to assist the governor and his team in maintaining law and order, and a separate federal order has established a secretariat for 12 designated districts, mostly along the Afghan border, headed by an additional chief secretary, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Why it matters
For ordinary readers and residents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, these measures mark a profound shift in provincial administration. With the suspension of regular provincial government functions and the transfer of assembly powers to the federal parliament, day-to-day governance of the region rests temporarily with federally aligned leadership, the army, and appointed secretariats, directly altering how local administrative and security decisions are managed.