What does the takeover of Pakistan’s only province controlled by Imran Khan’s party mean for PTI?

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has accused Pakistan’s federal government of undermining democracy by suspending its provincial government in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling the move a “coup disguised as an emergency”.

PTI warned that it could “fuel further instability”.

Pakistan declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, suspending the provincial government led by the jailed former prime minister’s PTI.

President Asif Ali Zardari approved the measure on 11 October following a cabinet decision under prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. Law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the province would come under a governor’s rule for the next six months.

The comes as PTI prepared a march on Islamabad demanding Mr Khan’s release. Hundreds of party activists and three of Mr Khan’s sisters have already been detained.

PTI spokesperson and a close aide of Mr Khan, Zulfikar Bukhari, told The Independent: “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province left with a genuine democratic mandate. Now, even that last shred of democracy has been stripped away.”

He described the intervention as a “coup disguised as an emergency”.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also criticised the move, saying that “imposition of emergency is an ambush on democracy”.

The federal government and Pakistan’s military accuse the PTI-led administration of failing to contain rising militant violence.

PTI denies the allegations, saying Islamabad has failed to provide the resources needed to tackle the threat.

Mr Sharif told the cabinet: “We can’t just act as a silent spectator.”

Mr Khan’s party has maintained that the military interfered in the disputed 2024 general election, an allegation the military denies.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is PTI’s only provincial government following Pakistan’s disputed 2024 general election, in which Khan-backed candidates won the most seats nationally.

Under governor’s rule, executive authority has shifted away from the elected provincial administration to a governor-led structure supported by an 11-member advisory council.

Pakistan’s federal government said on Monday that politicians from the PTI party had been detained, according to Reuters.

Mr Khan has been jailed since August 2023 on a plethora of charges that his party claims are politically motivated.

Mr Bukhari said the party would “evaluate all our options in the coming days”, warning that the decision would “only deepen public resentment, fuel further instability and strengthen the very political forces they seek to silence”.

He said: “In attempting to undermine Imran Khan and chief minister Sohail Afridi, they have only elevated their standing among the people.”

The march was initially scheduled for 27 September but was postponed after PTI leaders said authorities had blocked key routes into Islamabad, including the Attock Bridge, a major crossing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Then earlier this month, the protesters set off from Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a convoy of trucks, buses and cars. The march was being led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi, a staunch Khan supporter.

Authorities had blocked entry points to Islamabad and roads within the capital using shipping containers to stop the protesters. Talks between Mr Khan’s PTI party and the federal government to postpone the march ended without an agreement.

PTI chair Gohar Ali Khan said negotiations remained deadlocked after two rounds.

According to Dawn, the party has said it will challenge the governor’s rule through the courts and public forums.

On Sunday, Gohar Ali Khan criticised the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling the federal government’s decision a “political mistake and undemocratic”.

He wrote on X: “We strongly condemn the imposition of emergency in the province in the strongest terms and completely reject this action. This is an extremely alarming and grave political mistake and an undemocratic measure – the people will never accept such actions against their rights.”

He said: “The mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is their constitutional and legal right. Peace cannot be established, nor stability brought, by ignoring this mandate, weakening provincial autonomy, and creating conflict between the federation and the province.”

But the emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the detention of local leaders add to the many challenges facing the party.

Mr Bukhari says: “The world must now confront what is happening in a country of 250 million people. Democracy, fundamental human rights and the rule of law are being systematically dismantled, institution by institution, province by province.

“And perhaps most disturbing of all is the deafening silence of the international community.

“How much further must Pakistan descend before the world finally speaks up?”

Earlier, ahead of the major protest, the elder son of the jailed leader had described the crackdown on his family as “disgraceful”.

Suleiman Khan, 29, also urged Western governments to take a stand against the “tyrants” leading Pakistan and said the detention of three members of his family in the country was “intended to intimidate them”.

Gohar Ali Khan added: “The federation cannot be strengthened by weakening the provinces. The solution to problems lies not in force, confrontation, and extraordinary measures, but in political wisdom, supremacy of the constitution, and meaningful negotiations and practical steps.

“We will raise a strong voice on every constitutional, legal, and democratic forum for the protection of the people’s mandate, provincial autonomy, and constitutional and democratic rights,” he said.

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in