ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday rejected the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, accusing the federal government of undermining the province’s democratic mandate and derailing negotiations that party leaders said had been progressing.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after a meeting of the PTI and the joint opposition, party leaders said they had been willing to continue talks with the federal government but could not provide unconditional support for counterterrorism operations without consultation with political parties and local stakeholders.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja described October 11 as a “black day” in Pakistan’s history, warning that governor’s rule could deepen political alienation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and lead to consequences similar to those witnessed in Balochistan.
Raja urged people across the country to raise their voices against what he described as an attempt to subjugate the population. Drawing a parallel with the dismissal of the provincial government led by Sardar Ataullah Mengal in Balochistan in 1973, he argued that political grievances and coercive measures could have lasting consequences.
“When you sow hatred, it does not end easily; it bears poisonous fruit,” Raja said, warning that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could face a similar trajectory.
He also called for public mobilisation against the government’s measures, arguing that even a small proportion of the population taking to the streets could challenge the existing political order.
“You are 250 million people; that is not a small number. They have occupied you. If even four to five per cent of you come out of your homes, this system will not hold,” he said.
Raja said negotiations had been moving towards a possible understanding before the government announced emergency measures. He maintained that the PTI had sought implementation of previously agreed decisions on security rather than introducing new demands.
He said future counterterrorism policy should be determined through consultations among all political parties, citing the February 2026 Apex Committee meeting and a peace jirga resolution as the basis for moving forward.
“Our position on the Parachinar agreement was clear: a joint strategy for operations was necessary,” Raja said, adding that the government could not be given unrestricted authority to conduct operations and then expect the provincial government to endorse them.
He said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had maintained the same position during negotiations and that the PTI could not provide written authorisation for unilateral action.
The party maintained that it supported efforts to eliminate terrorism but opposed operations that could result in civilian casualties. Raja said counterterrorism measures should be developed through political consensus and consultation with affected communities.
Raja said the negotiations had involved consultations with Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, while Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other political leaders had also been working to make the process successful.
He added that Senator Kamran Murtaza had indicated that the talks were moving in the right direction. According to Raja, the discussions included a proposed amendment to the Parachinar agreement and the development of a mutually agreed framework for counterterrorism measures. He alleged that the government instead demanded unconditional support for its proposed operations.
Raja said the government did not need to take the extraordinary step of imposing emergency measures while negotiations were under way.
He also referred to the PTI’s demand for access to its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan, saying the long march could not be called off without a meeting with him. The party has maintained that access to Khan and his input into political decisions are essential to meaningful negotiations.
Raja said the PTI would continue its resistance and called for peaceful demonstrations against the government’s actions.
“We will not throw stones. We will express our moral position through peaceful protest,” he said, adding that the long march announced by Afridi would proceed as planned.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also rejected the emergency and governor’s rule, describing the measures as an attack on provincial autonomy and the electoral mandate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Gohar questioned why the federal government had resorted to the measures in a province where the PTI held a two-thirds majority in the provincial assembly, arguing that the decision would deepen political divisions rather than resolve the security crisis.
He also questioned the reported arrest of Afridi and the detention of the provincial assembly speaker, saying the party had exhausted other avenues before deciding to hold a long march.
According to Gohar, the PTI had raised its concerns in parliament and the courts but failed to secure relief. He said the party had held around 15 meetings with the government, followed by two days of negotiations during which counterterrorism issues were introduced into the discussions.
Gohar also raised concerns over the arrests of party workers and the detention of Imran Khan’s sisters. He claimed that around 1,500 PTI workers were being held in Punjab’s jails and alleged that three party ministers had been arrested after being fired upon. These claims were not independently verified at the press conference.
He thanked political parties that had opposed governor’s rule and said the PTI would continue to challenge the decision.
The Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), an opposition alliance, also rejected the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing the measures as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an infringement of the public’s right to elect its representatives.
In a statement, the alliance said the decision undermined the province’s electoral mandate and lacked moral, legal, constitutional and democratic justification.
It questioned why similar measures had not been taken in Balochistan despite security and administrative challenges, accusing the federal government of applying different standards to the two provinces.
The alliance warned that the move could damage national unity and announced plans to convene a meeting to determine its response. It said it would develop a joint strategy with its allies to defend constitutional governance and provincial rights.
The statement also accused the government of resorting to authoritarian measures out of fear of the PTI’s long march and public mobilisation.
Other PTI leaders at the press conference accused the federal government of targeting the party and disregarding the mandate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s voters. They said the province’s population, particularly its large youth demographic, should not be made to feel that their votes carried no weight.
The party said Pakistan was facing simultaneous economic and security challenges and called for political reconciliation rather than measures that could further polarise the political environment.
PTI leaders stressed that their opposition to the proposed security strategy did not amount to opposition to the fight against terrorism. They called for implementation of the National Action Plan through consultation, saying counterterrorism measures should protect civilians and take account of the concerns of affected communities.
The federal government has defended the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule by citing the deteriorating security situation and what it describes as the provincial government’s failure to tackle militancy effectively.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the measures under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet. The decision transfers provincial executive functions to the governor and places the province’s administration under an 11-member advisory council.
The PTI has vowed to continue its protest campaign, insisting that peaceful mobilisation, constitutional rights and political consultation should guide the response to the crisis.
