Pakistan imposes emergency and governor rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Pakistan’s federal government has assumed direct control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after President Asif Ali Zardari, on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice, imposed an emergency and governor’s rule. The intervention followed the collapse of negotiations with jailed ex-PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over a planned march to Islamabad. PTI had led the province since 2013, but the order removed the provincial cabinet and led to the detention of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
Ministers cited surging militancy as justification. Data from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies showed 1,232 attacks in the first nine months of 2026, eclipsing the 1,066 recorded in 2025. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi of the Pakistan Peoples Party now runs the administration with an 11-member advisory council and army support. In 12 designated border districts, a separate secretariat was formed and executive officers were granted judicial powers after constitutional separation was suspended.
PTI denied allegations of aiding armed groups, asking why emergency rule was expanded across the entire province. Because the decree bypassed the local assembly, Parliament must ratify the emergency within 10 days, by October 21. While an approved emergency can remain in force indefinitely, governor’s rule can only be extended in two-month intervals up to a six-month ceiling.
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