Pakistan’s Parliament on October 15 endorsed the emergency and governor’s rule imposed on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa four days earlier, giving constitutional backing to the most sweeping federal intervention in a province since the 1990s. A joint sitting adopted two resolutions moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhary after what reports described as a heated debate between treasury and opposition benches, The News reported.
How the emergency was imposed
The federal cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, met on Sunday, October 11, and recommended a proclamation of emergency under Article 232 and governor’s rule under Article 234. President Asif Ali Zardari approved both the same day. The government said the PTI-led provincial administration had shown “deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism”, and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar cited law and order, counter-terrorism and the protection of civilians.
The move came after talks between the government and PTI over the party’s planned march on Islamabad broke down on October 3, according to The Express Tribune.
What Articles 232 and 234 allow
Article 232 lets the President declare an emergency when an internal disturbance is beyond a province’s power to control. Article 234 applies when a province cannot be governed in accordance with the Constitution. As Al Jazeera explained, because no resolution of the provincial assembly preceded the emergency, both houses had to approve it within ten days. Governor’s rule can be extended in two-month steps up to six months.
Who runs the province now
- Governor Faisal Karim Kundi (PPP) has taken over the functions of the provincial government, assisted by an 11-member advisory council.
- Parliament now exercises the powers of the provincial assembly, where PTI holds a majority.
- The chief minister, ministers, advisers and the advocate general have ceased to hold office. Dr Muhammad Fakhr Alam Irfan was appointed chief secretary.
- A separate secretariat now administers 12 “designated districts”, mostly former tribal areas on the Afghan border.
The government’s case
Officials point to the security situation. The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies recorded 1,232 militant attacks in the first nine months of 2026, most of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Read our report on the year’s security data.
PTI’s response
PTI has rejected the move. Chairman Gohar Ali Khan asked why governor’s rule covers the whole province if the concerns are concentrated in 12 districts, and said the party would challenge the measures in court and in the assemblies. The party says former chief minister Sohail Afridi and other leaders have been detained. The government has not disclosed where they are being held. The Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan opposition alliance announced it was ending talks with the government over what it called unconstitutional steps.
Lawyers quoted by Al Jazeera noted that the emergency does not abolish the elected assembly or the chief minister’s office: both are effectively suspended and must be restored once the emergency is lifted.
What happens next
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif renewed his invitation to the opposition to resume talks during the joint sitting. Governor’s rule will need parliamentary extension every two months. Court challenges, the fate of detained PTI leaders and the security situation in the designated districts will decide how long the arrangement lasts.
For more on daily life in the province, see our coverage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Politics.
Sources are linked throughout this article. AajMirror verifies figures against the original reports; if you spot an error, see our corrections policy.