Emergency in Imran Khan’s bastion: Why Shehbaz Sharif’s govt took control of KP
“The Cabinet took a detailed review of the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the circumstances arising from the provincial government’s deliberate indifference in the war against terrorism,” the office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement. His office cited a “failure of negotiations” between the Pakistan government and PTI leaders in the province. Pakistan’s interior ministry said the army would deploy personnel to help run the province and protect public property and government installations. An account on X associated with Junaid Akbar, a member of parliament and president of PTI’s provincial chapter, said he and provincial chief minister Sohail Afridi had been taken into custody. “We will not back down,” he said. “The arrest of chief minister Sohail Afridi and Junaid Akbar has exposed the political nature of the government’s actions,” PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said in a statement.
Pakistan’s political battle with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has taken a sharp turn, with the Shehbaz Sharif government suspending his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and imposing governor’s rule in the province. The move brings one of Imran Khan’s strongest political strongholds under direct control of the Shehbaz Sharif-led government, further deepening the confrontation between the military-backed government and PTI. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari approved the emergency on the prime minister’s advice. Under governor’s rule, the governor, who is appointed by the Pakistan government, takes over the province’s administration. “Our long march will continue until the demands are met, in accordance with the law. Here, only Imran Khan’s policy will prevail.