Pakistan police on Tuesday fired tear gas and live rounds at protesters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as clashes broke out over the suspension of the provincial government led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan ’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Police said 50 people had been detained and would face terrorism and sabotage charges for allegedly damaging government property and disrupting law and order. President Asif Ali Zardari issued the proclamation under Articles 232(1) and 234(1) of the Constitution, citing a surge in terrorist attacks and a breakdown of constitutional machinery in the province.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said protesters set fire to a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) centre in Bara. PTI information secretary Ikram Khatana, however, said unidentified people had started the fire and also stormed nearby offices. “The extraordinary intensity of terrorist incidents poses serious threats to the lives and property of the public,” the declaration said.
Pakistan suspended the provincial government amid worsening law and order and an escalating confrontation between the PTI-led administration and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government. The move stripped the elected provincial administration of its powers, requiring the chief minister, provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants and advocate general to vacate their offices. The presidential declaration cited the grave security situation and alleged failure of the provincial government to contain militancy as reasons for imposing the emergency.