By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday emphasised that imposing governor’s rule in a province remains a constitutional option, even as the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, challenged the federal authorities to follow through with the measure amid escalating tensions over security and governance.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is seriously weighing the imposition of governor’s rule in the restive northwestern province on persistent “security and governance issues”. Governor’s rule is not the face of any martial law. It is provided for in the Constitution by its creators,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the National Assembly. He added that if conditions warranted it, the government could implement the provision within constitutional bounds.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also told reporters that “it is a constitutional option that is available to every government, so such discussions arise when governance is weak”. “Let’s see how matters proceed.”
The warnings came against a backdrop of strained relations between the center and the province, where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan holds power. The discussions gained momentum after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week to address provincial concerns, including the potential for governor’s rule. The meeting focused on administrative challenges in the province and the broader political landscape, with reports indicating that Afridi’s unyielding posture toward the federal government, the armed forces and the bureaucracy had fueled considerations of governor’s rule.
In Peshawar, Afridi struck a defiant tone, daring the federal authorities to act. “We are not afraid of governor’s rule. If they are so bold, then let them try and impose it,” he told reporters. When pressed on the province’s law and order woes, he said that “those who have implemented policies [framed behind] closed doors should realise this”.
Opposition voices in Parliament amplified the pushback. Asad Qaiser, a PTI lawmaker, condemned the government’s hints at governor’s rule as an “undemocratic attitude.” “If the government is thinking about governor’s rule, then do whatever you want, but you know you won’t be able to handle its political repercussions,” Qaiser warned in the National Assembly.
PTI Chairman Barrister Ali Gohar, speaking outside Parliament House, dismissed the prospect outright. “I don’t at all see it. Neither are the conditions there, nor will there ever be,” he said. “People should not engage in rumour-mongering and the province cannot bear governor’s rule.” Gohar highlighted the province’s struggles with terrorism, vowing that the PTI government would work to eradicate it and restore order. He called for patience with Afridi’s leadership. “Hopefully governor’s rule will not be implemented and the province will be run as per the law and the Constitution.”
Local media reported that Faisal Karim Kundi, the current governor .of KP, is likely to be replaced in the coming days, with federal authorities actively considering six candidates for the post. The shortlist includes three prominent political leaders and three retired senior security officials. The political figures under consideration are Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, senior vice president of the Awami National Party and a former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, chairman of the Qaumi Watan Party and a longtime former federal minister; and Pervez Khattak, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians faction.
The retired military officers on the list are Lt. Gen. (retd) Khalid Rabbani, a former corps commander; Maj. Gen. (retd) Ghayur Mehmood, a former inspector general of the Frontier Corps; and Maj. Gen. (retd) Tariq Khan, also a former inspector general of the Frontier Corps. Kundi was appointed governor in May 2024 on the recommendation of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
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