Pakistan imposes emergency rule in ​province governed by Imran Khan’s party

Authorities in Pakistan have announced a state of emergency in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The state of emergency was invoked on Sunday under two articles of the constitution dealing with security. It effectively suspends the provincial government run by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of jailed former Prime ⁠Minister Imran Khan.

President Asif Ali Zardari said in a social media post he had approved the recommendations made by the cabinet, which had held a meeting under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier in the day.

A statement issued by Sharif’s office said cabinet members reviewed the situation and took note of the “provincial government’s deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism”.

Pakistan’s constitution allows the federal government to take over some or all provincial government functions ⁠during an emergency, though the president’s office did not specify how the province would ⁠be administered.

Shortly after the announcement, PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar said Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was arrested along with the party’s president in the province.

The provincial governor will take charge with an ⁠advisory council, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told a news conference in Islamabad, adding that the arrangement will initially be in place for six months.

The move comes as the PTI has been preparing for a march on the capital , Islamabad, to demand the release of Khan, who has been in jail for more than three years but still commands widespread popularity across the country.

The march was originally scheduled for September 27 but was postponed until October 4 to allow talks between the government and the PTI leadership to take place.

The government, however, said it would not allow the march to enter the capital and has been preparing for weeks to prevent the arrival of PTI demonstrators in Islamabad. It has erected barriers using shipping containers to block main access routes to the capital.

PTI spokesman Zulfikar Bukhari said the decision to invoke the state of emergency would only lead to “further bloodshed, ‌instability and collateral damage”, the Reuters news agency reported.

He said there was room for talks, but the latest decision showed the government never intended to hold negotiations.