Pakistan suspends Imran Khan’s party government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and placed the province under governor’s rule, suspending the provincial government led by Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Zardari acted on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, which accused the provincial government of disengaging from counter-terrorism efforts. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said militant violence in the province had risen 196% in recent years and that the arrangement would initially last six months.

Now that little bit of democracy is also gone.

Zulfiquar Bukhari, spokesperson for Imran Khan

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi takes charge with an 11-member advisory council. Interior minister of state Talal Chaudhry said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had been detained. The PTI says its provincial president, Junaid Akbar, and assembly speaker Babar Swati are also being held.

Monitoring group NetBlocks reported a major internet disruption in parts of the province late on Sunday, and schools in Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi and Nowshera closed on Monday. Parliament must approve the emergency by 21 October, and sessions were called for Tuesday.

Khan has been in prison since 2023, and his party says the charges are politically motivated. The PTI had planned a march on Islamabad to demand his release after talks with the government failed.