The federal government said on Monday that leaders and workers from former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been detained after President Asif Ali Zardari suspended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration and declared a state of emergency. Minister Talal Chaudhry told Reuters that the chief minister and some cabinet members had been taken into “preventive custody”, and that this happened on Sunday at the chief minister’s house in Peshawar.
Preventive custody in Peshawar
Chaudhry said anyone held who had a case to face would be charged and tried, and that the others would be released. Business Recorder reported that witnesses and officials saw the chief minister’s house and other important facilities nearby cordoned off, with a heavy police presence, paramilitary forces and shipping containers.
Arab News, citing police, reported that hundreds of members of the former prime minister’s party had been detained in the province. The New Indian Express put the number at 278, while The Hindu reported that the protests were faltering.
Shaukat Yousafzai, a Khan aide, condemned the arrests and called for those held to be freed. Business Recorder also reported that three sisters and hundreds of supporters had been detained ahead of the planned march.
Why the centre acted
Zardari’s order on Sunday suspended the provincial government led by Sohail Afridi, an aide of Khan. The federal government said the emergency was imposed because the province had failed to tackle terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan. Business Recorder reported that the province has faced an increasing number of militant attacks in recent months. PTI rejected that claim and said the step was meant to deter supporters from marching to Islamabad to press for Khan’s release.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said Governor Faisal Karim Kundi would take charge of the province, the handover Pakistanis are searching for under KP governor rule. Pakistan’s constitution allows the federal government to assume control from provincial authorities during an emergency. Reuters noted more than 10,000 searches for that phrase.
Where the talks broke down
The government and PTI held several rounds of talks after the march was called last month. A minister said, in the Business Recorder account, that the government was ready to accept all of the party’s demands, including permission for the march. “We asked for just one thing, that the party should publicly condemn terrorism and join our hands in the fight against terrorism,” he said. The party did not agree, and the talks broke down for that reason, he said.
The federal government accuses PTI of failing to curb terrorists, a charge the party denies. The emergency came a week after supporters had rallied for days in the province, intending to march to the capital for Khan’s release and medical treatment. Business Recorder noted that the party’s last large-scale protest, two years ago, ended in deadly clashes with security forces, and that Khan’s arrest in 2023 sparked nationwide riots in which supporters attacked military installations.
The published accounts give no end date for KP governor rule. Chaudhry said people facing cases would be tried and that the others would be released, and he gave no timetable.
