Pakistan imposes emergency rule on province governed by Imran Khan's party

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari imposed a state of emergency on the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, approving a recommendation by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the move was based on Articles 232 and 234 of the constitution, with the military deployed under Article 245. The decision effectively sidelines the provincial government run by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's PTI party. No end date was announced.

The government cited security. Sharif's office accused the provincial administration of a "deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism." Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said "today has not been an easy day" and said 518 police officers had been killed in the past 18 months. Tarar said terrorist incidents in the province had risen 196% over roughly two years. An 11-member advisory committee is to take over administration.

The PTI rejected the move. Party chairman Gohar Ali Khan called it "an extremely concerning and serious political mistake." Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had been arrested; there was no immediate official confirmation. The PTI had been preparing a march on Islamabad to demand Khan's release, which authorities have blocked with shipping containers. PTI spokesman Zulfikar Bukhari told Reuters the emergency would bring "further bloodshed, instability and collateral damage."