By Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid
ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Pakistan’s president declared a state of emergency and suspended the provincial government of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday, the president’s office said, following allegations it has failed to tackle Islamist militancy.
The constitution allows the federal government to take over some or all provincial government functions during an emergency.
The provincial governor will take charge with an 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 Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party rallied for several days to pressure the government for his release, threatening to march on the capital Islamabad in coming days amid deepening political instability.
The federal government and the military have accused Khan’s party of failing to curb Islamist militants in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, which has suffered an increasing number of militant attacks in recent months.
Khan’s party rejects the allegation, saying the federal government failed to provide the provincial government with funding and equipment to combat the militancy.
“The situation is so grave that you wouldn’t see any residents coming out of their houses after evening in some of the districts,” said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Islamabad accuses neighbouring Afghanistan of harboring Islamist militants who launch attacks inside Pakistan, and says that Khan’s party had been sympathizing with both the Taliban in Kabul and their affiliates at home.
Both the Afghan Taliban and Khan’s party have denied the accusation.
President Asif Ali Zardari declared an emergency on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following a federal cabinet decision, the president’s office said.
“This is more of a coup disguised as emergency,” said Zulfikar Bukhari, Khan’s aide and his party’s spokesperson.
Bukhari said it was a “ridiculous decision” that would only lead to further bloodshed and instability.
The country’s powerful military is widely seen as the ultimate power broker to decide who will rule the South Asian nation of 240 million. Khan’s supporters say the military rigged the 2024 election against the 74-year-old former cricket star, an allegation the military denies.
KHAN’S PARTY CHIEF MINISTER’S MOVEMENT BLOCKED
Ahead of the planned march, authorities detained three of Khan’s sisters and hundreds of party activists in recent days.
Restrictions have been placed on Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi of Khan’s party in the northwestern province, one of his close aides told Reuters. All roads leading to his office had been blocked with shipping containers, with hundreds of police deployed, said witnesses.
The PTI’s last large-scale protest two years ago ended in deadly clashes with security forces.
The government has cut access to the capital, Islamabad, to bar the protesters from reaching parliament, blocking major highways with shipping containers and deploying tens of thousands of security forces, interior ministry officials said.
STANDOFF OVER KHAN’S HEALTH
The standoff comes more than a month after the government defied a court order and refused to allow Khan’s treatment in a private hospital, despite mounting concerns over his health.
The protest also coincides with public discontent over inflation and rising fuel prices that has spread beyond Khan’s core supporters.
Khan’s 2023 arrest sparked nationwide riots that threatened the standing of the Pakistani military. He says he is a political prisoner and the military is making up charges to keep him out of the country’s politics, a charge the army denies.
Cases against Khan have ranged from concerns over state gifts to instigating violent attacks on military and state installations, and an accusation of an unlawful marriage.
All convictions but one have since been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Editing by Jamie Freed and Elaine Hardcastle)
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