By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A joint session of parliament voted on Thursday to endorse emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formally stripping jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party of control of the northwestern province.
At a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate, the resolution on the emergency was adopted by 240 votes to 46. It came a day after both houses, sitting separately, had endorsed the proclamation issued by President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday.
Opposition members arrived carrying placards reading “emergency na manzoor”, Urdu for “emergency is unacceptable”, and chanted the slogan as proceedings opened. Parliamentary affairs minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry moved a motion to suspend certain rules of procedure. It was met with loud shouts of “no”, and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq put it to a vote by asking members to stand. It passed by 214 to 56.
Chaudhry then moved two resolutions, one approving the emergency under Article 232 of the constitution and the other approving governor’s rule under Article 234.
Law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, who opened the debate, said a special mechanism had been put in place to run the province during the emergency and governor’s rule. He said the PTI-led government, which he described as now non-functional, had been advised repeatedly to tackle terrorism. He again criticised PTI leaders for not attending the funerals of those killed in militant attacks. He said governor’s rule was permitted under Article 234 where a provincial government was being run against the constitution.
The government says there were 3,787 militant incidents in the province over the past year, and argues that the PTI administration focused on political activity rather than counterterrorism.
Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the opposition leader, who heads the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan alliance, blamed the “faulty decisions” of the country’s rulers for the crisis. He asked where Sohail Afridi, the KP chief minister, was being held. The government has confirmed that Afridi, who was leading a march towards Islamabad, is in “preventive custody”. Achakzai also accused the speaker of failing to run the house fairly.
He said the opposition was ready for dialogue on strengthening parliament and eradicating terrorism “of all kinds”. “If you hold dialogue on these issues, we will give unconditional support.” He compared the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the 1971 separation of East Pakistan, and noted that Afridi had been called a terrorist. “Were multiple attacks on the heads of different political parties in the past in KP committed by Sohail Afridi?” he asked.
The proclamation suspended the provincial government led by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and handed charge of the province, which borders Afghanistan, to the governor, a member of Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party. The PPP chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, defended the decision, saying the government had tried to avoid emergency rule but had been left with no alternative because of the security situation.
The PTI says the move is a pretext for a political takeover of its main stronghold. It argues that the move strips the party of provincial budget resources and was meant to stop supporters marching on the capital. The party challenged the proclamation at Peshawar High Court on Wednesday. Opposition figures say it undermines provincial autonomy and the mandate of an elected government.
“It was ridiculous to equate Imran Khan’s basic human rights with a complex issue such as terrorism,” said Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide to Khan.
The emergency was declared as thousands of Khan’s supporters were marching in KP to demand his release from prison and medical treatment for him. His three sisters and hundreds of supporters, including party leaders, were arrested before the march.
Clashes between supporters and police have been reported since the emergency was imposed and army troops were deployed in the province. Media cited police officials as saying more than 270 PTI members had been arrested since governor’s rule began. A PTI senator, Zeeshan Khanzada, accused the government of abducting Afridi.
Najam Sethi, a political commentator, said the PTI had come out badly. “It has not been able to extract any concessions for Khan while losing control of its government in KP and surrendering its political leaders to imprisonment,” he said. He added that the situation worsened the long-running tug-of-war between Mr Khan and the army chief, Asim Munir.
The government held talks with the PTI last week to avoid a repeat of the party’s last major protest two years ago, which ended in deadly clashes. Khan’s arrest in 2023 had sparked nationwide riots. The PTI’s demands included private medical assistance for Mr Khan, prison visits and phone calls with his London-based sons. The government wanted the party to publicly condemn Islamist militancy, attend funerals of security personnel killed in attacks and join its counterterrorism effort, according to junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry.
“We had given them almost everything they asked for,” he told Reuters, adding that the PTI rejected the government’s demands.
Under Article 234, governor’s rule lapses after two months unless a joint sitting approves an extension, and it cannot stay in force for more than six months in total. There have been five provincial emergencies in Pakistan since 1975. Three were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and there was one each in Punjab and Balochistan. All were reversed within months, through the courts or political intervention.
Khan, 74, was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 and has been in prison since 2023 on charges ranging from sedition to corruption. He and his party deny them. His family says his health is worsening, citing loss of vision in one eye, fluctuating blood pressure and the psychological effects of solitary confinement.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent body, has urged both sides to return to talks. “We strongly urge the federal government and the PTI to resume a meaningful political dialogue,” it said.
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