Pakistan Detains Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister and Cabinet Members a Day After Emergency Rule, Government Confirms

Since President Asif Ali Zardari declared emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and suspended the PTI-led provincial government on Sunday, Oct. 11, the federal government has confirmed that the province's chief minister and part of his cabinet are in custody.

"Yes, I can confirm that the chief minister and some of his cabinet members have been taken into preventive custody," federal minister Talal Chaudhry said today, Oct. 12. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, a close ally of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was among those held.

Chaudhry said the detentions took place Sunday at the chief minister's residence in Peshawar. Anyone facing criminal cases would be charged and tried, he said. The rest would be released. No charges against Afridi have been announced.

What the streets looked like

Witnesses and officials said police, paramilitary forces and shipping containers sealed off the chief minister's house and other important facilities nearby.

In Peshawar and the neighboring Khyber district, police arrested a handful of Khan supporters and fired shots into the air to disperse crowds. That is according to a Reuters-verified video and a Reuters photographer at the scene.

An official order seen by Reuters shut all educational institutions in Peshawar and cancelled all examinations for Monday, out of fear of a reaction.

The Hindu quoted two anonymous Pakistani police officials who put the total number of detained PTI members at 278. The Hindu also reported major disruptions to internet connectivity in the province. The government has not published its own count.

Khan's three sisters and hundreds of supporters were detained earlier, ahead of the planned march. The PTI called that one of the strongest crackdowns in years.

The government's case

The federal government and the military accuse the PTI of failing to contain an Islamist insurgency in the province, which borders Afghanistan. The province has suffered a rising number of militant attacks in recent months.

Zardari said terrorist attacks "have increased to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing grave threat to the lives and properties of the people of the province." He invoked Articles 232 and 234 of the constitution, which allow the federal government to take over from provincial authorities in an emergency.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said a governor will take charge for an initial six months, and could stay as long as needed. The interior ministry said troops would be deployed in the province.

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, the federal government's representative in the province, posted a video message. He said residents want "peace, stability, development and prosperity rather than unrest and insecurity," and urged them not to break the law or incite violence.

Tarar also said the government and the PTI held several rounds of talks after the march was called last month. He said the government was ready to accept all of the PTI's demands, including a go-ahead for the march.

The PTI's case

The PTI rejects the militancy charge. The party says Islamabad has not given the province the funding and equipment it needs to fight militants. It says the emergency was imposed to deter supporters from marching on Islamabad to press for Khan's release.

Khan's aide and PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari called the move "more of a coup disguised as emergency." He warned it risks further bloodshed and instability. Shaukat Yousafzai, another Khan aide, condemned the detentions and demanded the release of those held.

Criticism has also come from outside the PTI. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the JUI-F, whom the government had engaged to mediate with the PTI, said: "Imposition of emergency is an ambush on democracy." Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, announced a peaceful protest against the dismissal of an elected provincial government.

The backdrop

The march was first set for Sept. 27, then pushed to Oct. 4 while talks continued. In the capital, the government has deployed tens of thousands of security personnel and lined roads with containers to keep protesters away from parliament.

The stakes are high on both sides. The PTI's last large-scale protest two years ago ended in deadly clashes with security forces. Khan's 2023 arrest set off nationwide riots in which his supporters attacked military installations.

Candidates backed by Khan's party won the most seats in the 2024 election but formed a government only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan's supporters say the military rigged the vote against him. The military denies that, and denies PTI accusations that it dominates politics.

Khan, 74, is jailed on cases ranging from state gifts to instigating violence.

Two things remain open. One is whether any of the detained provincial leaders will be formally charged or released, as Chaudhry said. The other is whether the PTI's march proceeds under a governor's rule backed by troops. The government has said the governor's term is initially six months and could be extended.