Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Tuesday that the KP governor rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had not overthrown an elected government. At a briefing for international media in Islamabad, held with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, he said the Constitution allows the federal government, the prime minister and the president to act when circumstances warrant it. His comments came after President Asif Ali Zardari, on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, proclaimed the emergency and governor's rule on October 11, citing the province's worsening security.
What ministers said in Islamabad
The law minister said the measures were taken under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. He described the Constitution as the document that defines the system of government and the procedures for exceptional situations. The president, he said, may proclaim an emergency on the prime minister's advice, and that advice, together with the president's satisfaction, forms part of the constitutional procedure.
A press release from the President Secretariat's Media Wing on October 11 said the decision followed federal cabinet recommendations, formal advice from the prime minister, and law-and-order reports submitted by the security institutions concerned. The statement also said negotiations between a government delegation and the provincial leadership had broken down over the deteriorating security situation. How the order was signed is the step the law minister was defending two days later.
Tarar said Pakistan has faced terrorism for decades, not only in recent years. Incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said, had increased significantly, and government institutions had shared terrorism data with the federal government. Those reports were considered at the Prime Minister's Office before the decision.
He rejected the idea that the step was taken for political reasons, saying it could have come earlier if politics had been the aim. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the centre tried several times to agree a counterterrorism approach with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the provincial government, but the chief minister turned down an arrangement that had already been agreed. "Our only agenda was non-political," he said. The federal government, he added, wanted one united policy against terrorism.
He alleged that chief minister Sohail Afridi was unwilling to adopt a counterterrorism policy or a coordinated strategy against militant violence. PTI could have continued its political march and raised its other demands, he said, because the centre had not opposed those activities. The only demand was a joint strategy against terrorism. He noted that Pakistan already has a National Action Plan, and that high-level committee meetings were held to coordinate counterterrorism efforts.
The PTI response
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which has ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2013, assailed the proclamation and vowed to challenge it in the courts. Barrister Gohar called it unprecedented in the history of provincial autonomy in Pakistan, saying emergency rule had never been imposed in a province with a two-thirds majority. "We condemn this," he said. That description of the majority is his claim. The ministers' account is different: they say no elected government was overthrown, and that the KP governor rule followed the security reports and the collapse of talks, not a political plan.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 2013: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2013.
- October 11, 2026: President Asif Ali Zardari proclaims an emergency and governor's rule on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice, after cabinet recommendations and security reports. The President Secretariat says talks with the provincial leadership have broken down.
- October 13, 2026: Azam Nazeer Tarar tells international media in Islamabad that no elected government has been overthrown. Attaullah Tarar says Sohail Afridi rejected an agreed counterterrorism arrangement.
Aasan alfaaz mein
KP governor rule aur emergency Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein lag chuki hai. Centre ka kehna hai ke kisi elected hukumat ko hataaya nahi gaya, yeh dastiur aur barhti hui dehshatgardi ki wajah se hua. Unka kehna hai ke soobai chief minister dehshatgardi ke khilaf mili hui policy manne ko tayyar nahi thay. PTI is faisle ko adalat mein challenge karegi, is liye awam ko yeh dekhna hai ke security ka nizam ab centre kaise chalata hai.
