- Public protests erupted; Peshawar fortified, Islamabad security heightened.
In a dramatic escalation of political turmoil in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s federal government has imposed a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, dismissing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial government and placing Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, alongside six cabinet ministers, under arrest. The decision was approved by President Asif Ali Zardari after the federal cabinet invoked constitutional Articles 232 and 234 to halt a high-stakes “Long March” led by CM Afridi towards Islamabad since October 4, which demanded the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Under the state of emergency, complete administrative and law enforcement control of the province has shifted directly to the Governor.
Peshawar Fortified
The crackdown follows warnings from Sohail Afridi, who had cautioned the central government against enforcing Governor’s rule and declared that PTI would not back down from its demands, drawing comparisons to historical public resistance. In response to the dismissal, angry citizens have taken to the streets across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to protest the federal intervention.
As a precautionary measure, authorities have placed shipping containers across the capital city of Peshawar and significantly heightened security outside the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.
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Constitutional Standoff Over PTI Stronghold
The move to dissolve the provincial government has ignited intense constitutional concerns, given PTI’s overwhelming political mandate in the region. Imran Khan’s party held a commanding two-thirds majority, with 92 out of 145 seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and had governed the province uninterrupted for the past 12 years.
Dethroning such a deeply entrenched administration is expected to trigger widespread public backlash and deepen Pakistan’s political crisis in the days ahead.
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