By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday there had been no discussion with coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) about imposing governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government was heading in a direction that could create conditions for such an option.
“The PTI is forcing the federal government to take strict action against it … and it’s an option in the province,” Bhutto-Zardari told reporters in Chiniot, a city in central Punjab. “Constitutional options exist for imposing governor’s rule.”
Media reports said 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”.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said earlier that “governor’s rule is not the face of any martial law. It is provided for in the Constitution by its creators” and if conditions warranted it, the government could implement the provision within constitutional bounds.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also told reporters last week 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 military and the province, where the PTI party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan opposed any military operation in the region and instead called for dialogue with Afghanistan.
KP shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan, with strong cultural and linguistic ties to Pashtun populations across the frontier. The province has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, with Islamabad accusing groups based in Afghanistan of cross-border attacks — allegations the Taliban government in Kabul denies.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan soured in 2023 when Islamabad cracked down on undocumented migrants, most of them Afghans, after a wave of deadly suicide bombings and militant assaults in which officials said Afghan nationals were involved, though no evidence was shared publicly.
While the federal government and military have taken a hard line on Kabul, the KP administration has signalled it favours engagement with the Afghan Taliban.
Bhutto-Zardari also criticised PTI founder Imran Khan, saying he is now being held accountable for his crimes. “Intoxicated by power, he had threatened to send everyone to jail. Imran Khan is now facing the consequences of his own conduct.”
A day earlier in Lahore, the PPP chairman had urged the PML-N to give political space to the PTI. “It is the responsibility of the government to give space to the opposition in politics, and all political forces must play a serious role for the betterment of the country,” he said.
Access Again Blocked
Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was denied permission to meet the incarcerated Khan for the 10th time on Thursday by Adiala jail administration in Rawalpindi. Speaking to media after being turned away, Afridi said it was strange that an elected chief minister was not allowed to meet his party’s founding chairman despite court orders.
He questioned the state’s message to PTI and Khan’s sisters, who were peacefully protesting but dispersed using water cannons, asking whether the intention was to suggest KP was not considered part of Pakistan.
Afridi said efforts had been underway for the past three years to “minus Imran”, but all such attempts had failed, adding that the government and “powers that be” should engage in talks with Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, as Khan had authorised them to represent him in negotiations.
Political temperatures rose further on Wednesday as Rawalpindi police sought a legal opinion on registering a first information report against PTI leaders and supporters over a protest outside Adiala jail. The PTI moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly over the alleged use of force against its workers and voiced alarm at reports of Khan’s possible transfer to another prison. The party joined other opposition groups in warning that efforts to sideline the former premier and clamp down on peaceful protest would only deepen the standoff with the government and push the country towards greater political turmoil.
Early Wednesday, authorities used water cannons to disperse protesters, including Khan’s sisters Aleema, Uzma and Noreen, who were staging a sit-in outside the jail after being denied a meeting. The demonstration, led by Aleema and joined by senior members including PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan, followed multiple failed attempts to meet Khan despite a court order allowing meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week, authorities allowed Uzma to meet her brother, after which she said he was “perfectly fine”.
Protest Strategy Rift
PTI leaders remain divided over continuing prolonged sit-ins outside the jail, with some warning they could adversely affect the incarcerated leader. A senior party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were differing opinions within the party. “One group favours prolonged sit-ins, believing they will put pressure on the government and the powers that be. The other group believes a token protest outside the jail should be held before dispersing,” he said.
A PTI member of the National Assembly explained the rationale for token protests, citing concerns that the “powers that be” might create a scene outside Adiala Jail, such as orchestrating a blast or staging a false-flag operation, to allege an attempt to break into the facility and free Khan. “After that, the government will be able to convince the international community that it was necessary to shift Imran Khan from Adiala Jail to somewhere else. We don’t want to give the government any such excuse,” he said.
Another leader from Punjab said that for the last three months, workers and leaders from the province were regularly reaching the prison, with attendance marked in Lahore and sometimes in Kallar Kahar.” Each MPA or leader who brings four people with him in a car spends Rs50,000 to Rs60,000, as they usually reach Lahore or other parts of Punjab the next day. Peshawar, however, is less than two hours away, so leaders and workers can easily travel from there and return. Despite this, people from Punjab have dominated the crowds every time. The KP chief minister arrives at Adiala Jail with only a few people; he does not even bother to bring his full cabinet,” he claimed.
In several parliamentary party meetings, some members suggested staging a token protest and then dispersing. “Everyone knows that we will not be allowed to meet Khan sahab, so we should record the protest and save our energies for the right time,” he said.
Another MNA claimed that since Aleema took control of the party’s social media operations, online trolling targeted anyone who spoke with logic or suggested a practical approach to securing Khan’s release.
“On the other hand, it is also a fact that our workers are arrested while Aleema is not, despite non-bailable warrants having been issued for her. We have received messages from certain quarters that if we ‘calm down’, meetings with Khan sahib may be allowed in a few weeks. However, some individuals appear more interested in self-projection,” he claimed.
He said that earlier this week, while Aleema was holding a sit-in, around 20 party vehicles were damaged, and police seized the keys of several others, leaving even undamaged cars immobile. “There are some people who reach the sit-in for ratings as they are active on social media,” he added. In the past, Mashal Yousafzai, after meeting Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, conveyed instructions to end protests outside Adiala jail and stage them outside the Islamabad High Court instead.”
A written directive was also issued in this regard, but later Aleema Khanum met Khan sahab and claimed he had not given any such instructions, after which the protests outside Adiala jail resumed,” he said.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram admitted the decision was made to stop protests outside the prison. “However, when Aleema Khanum announced that she would hold the protest outside Adiala jail, the party decided to stand along with her. She is the sister of Imran Khan, and we will stand by her,” he said.
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