Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi clarified the federal government's position on planned opposition protests on Friday, emphasizing that authorities were never opposed to political assembly. In the Mohsin Naqvi PTI sit-in statement delivered during a press conference in Islamabad alongside Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, the interior minister insisted that the state's sole reservation was the country's fragile counterterrorism landscape, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Naqvi stated that the administration had never asked the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to scrap its gathering, noting that any recommendation to delay the march originated from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He stressed that official conversations had maintained that the federal government was prepared to accommodate the demonstration, provided security threats were prioritized.
Negotiations and Last-Minute Stalemate
According to the interior minister, the federal administration spent weeks trying to build consensus with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had sought to engage opposition figures prior to his departure for New York on September 17, while an institutional committee was proposed for mid-October. However, those initial overtures received no formal reaction from the opposition.
Naqvi detailed that talks persisted across high-level channels involving the head of state and the premier. Negotiators reviewed four distinct revisions of a draft accord. Naqvi maintained communication with PTI representatives until 11:45 p.m. the previous night, assuring them that an understanding was still achievable, but the exchange ultimately ended without an answer from the opposition side.
Deteriorating Security Landscape in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The minister painted a stark picture of conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reporting that civilians in multiple districts could not safely leave their homes after dark. Highlighting the recent murder of an Election Commission official, Naqvi recalled raising these security lapses repeatedly during discussions with KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
Naqvi noted that the federal government had offered to finance police reinforcements in high-risk districts after provincial representatives cited budgetary constraints. While provincial leaders had acknowledged during talks that emergency measures were required, Naqvi lamented an apparent hesitation among local figures to visibly align themselves with federal counterterrorism initiatives.
Governor's Rule and Legal Measures
Stressing that counterterrorism requires collective ownership rather than fragmented responses, Naqvi reported that 518 police personnel had been martyred across the province over the past 18 months. He argued that the federation could no longer bear these casualties without active provincial partnership.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar disclosed that the president exercised authority under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution to declare an emergency. Naqvi concluded that the breakdown of talks and the escalation of militant violence left the federal cabinet with no remaining path except to enforce Governor's Rule to stabilize the province.
