PESHAWAR — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, promising Rs160 billion for development on his first visit to the province since the October 11 takeover, while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf challenged the intervention in court and demanded the restoration of its elected government, according to reporting on the prime minister’s visit.
Speaking at Governor House in Peshawar, Shehbaz described the decision as taken under “extreme compulsion.” He said a political committee spent 48 hours seeking a negotiated settlement and that he consulted President Asif Ali Zardari twice before proceeding; talks between federal and provincial representatives on October 2 and 3 ended without agreement. Zardari approved the measures under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, transferring executive authority from Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his cabinet to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
Shehbaz accused the PTI administration of neglecting security, education and healthcare, saying 5,000 police positions remained vacant, Safe City projects were unfinished and the Counter Terrorism Department lacked training and equipment. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told Parliament the province had recorded 3,787 terrorist incidents over the previous year, while the independent Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies counted 1,232 attacks nationwide in the first nine months of 2026 — already more than in all of 2025. The two figures use different definitions and coverage, and are not directly comparable.
PTI’s response and the court challenge
PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court on October 14 seeking cancellation of the measures and restoration of the elected government, arguing the constitutional conditions for Articles 232 and 234 were not met. “If there is terrorism and an emergency is needed in 12 districts, then why is governor’s rule across the whole province?” Gohar asked at a news conference. Former provincial finance minister Taimur Jhagra, a PTI leader, said: “Of course the provincial government was fighting terrorism. We own the fight against terrorism individually and collectively.”
On October 24, PTI leaders retired Major Tahir Sadiq and former National Assembly member Eman Tahir added their opposition in a joint statement, calling the measures unconstitutional and undemocratic and demanding their immediate withdrawal. PTI also demands the release of Afridi and cabinet members placed in preventive custody on October 12, a step Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry confirmed at the time.
The money and the 12 districts
Shehbaz announced Rs160 billion for development projects, promised wheat supplies from federal stores at federal prices, and directed that the Counter Terrorism Department be strengthened and Safe City projects completed. He said more than Rs800 billion had been provided or was being provided to the province for counterterrorism since the 2010 National Finance Commission Award. Separately, the federal government has set up an Area Development Secretariat for 12 designated districts — most along the Afghan border or in the former tribal areas — with a council of 48 elders and prominent figures.
The National Assembly and Senate approved the emergency proclamation amid opposition protests. What happens next turns on two tracks: whether the money and equipment change security on the ground, and whether the Peshawar High Court accepts PTI’s argument that the takeover itself was unconstitutional. No hearing ruling had been reported at the time of the prime minister’s visit.
Source: Asia Daily, October 24, 2026 — Shehbaz defends KP emergency rule, promises Rs160 billion.
