Pakistan declares an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, effectively suspending the PTI-run provincial government
13 October 2026
Authorities in Pakistan announced a state of emergency in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday 11 October 2026.
It was invoked on Sunday under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, which deal with security, and effectively suspends the provincial government run by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the recommendations of the cabinet, which met under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The Prime Minister's office cited the provincial government's "deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism".
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the provincial governor will take charge with an advisory council, initially for six months.
PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was arrested along with the party's president in the province; PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari called the move "more of a coup disguised as emergency".
In plain words
PTI Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — The party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, which runs the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
State of emergency Constitutional emergency provisions — Here invoked under Articles 232 and 234 of Pakistan's Constitution, which deal with security.