President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday proclaimed an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, citing the province’s worsening security situation.
“The President approved and signed the summary upon the Prime Minister’s advice under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution of Pakistan,” the President Secretariat’s Media Wing said in a press release.
The decision followed recommendations from the federal cabinet, formal advice from the prime minister and law-and-order reports submitted by relevant security institutions.
The statement also cited the breakdown of negotiations between the government delegation and the provincial leadership over the deteriorating security situation.
The Centre had alleged shortcomings in the provincial government’s counterterrorism efforts as grounds for the decision.
The constitution allows the federal government to take over some or all provincial government functions during an emergency.
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi will take charge with an 11-member advisory council, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told a news conference in Islamabad, adding that the arrangement will initially be in place for six months.
The move comes after the major opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, rallied for several days to pressure the government for its incarcerated founder Imran Khan’s release, threatening to march on the capital, Islamabad, in the coming days amid deepening political instability.
