The federal government has suspended the provincial administration and handed control to the governor, while PTI says its chief minister was taken into custody.
A Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emergency took effect on Sunday after President Asif Ali Zardari approved Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recommendation, suspending the provincial government run by Imran Khan’s PTI, Al Jazeera reported. The prime minister’s office said the provincial administration had deliberately stepped back from the fight against terrorism. PTI leaders said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was arrested shortly afterward, though Aaj News noted that officials had neither confirmed nor denied it.
Has Sohail Afridi Been Arrested?
Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan said Afridi had been arrested and urged people across the province to gather in Peshawar, the Express Tribune reported. PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar said the chief minister and the party’s provincial president were detained, according to Al Jazeera. Dawn referred to reports of the arrest.
On Friday, the Peshawar High Court maintained its order restraining the arrest of Afridi and 27 other PTI leaders in cases linked to the May 9 incidents, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The next hearing is fixed for October 20. Separately, the Express Tribune reported last month that an Islamabad anti terrorism court kept arrest warrants in place for Afridi and Akbar in a case over the November 26 protest.
What the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Covers
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the president acted under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, the Express Tribune reported. Al Jazeera reported that Governor Faisal Karim Kundi will take charge with an advisory council, initially for six months. The Express Tribune said the council has 11 members and that an Area Development Secretariat was ordered for 12 districts, where an administrator will hold provincial administrative and law enforcement powers.
According to the Express Tribune, the emergency covers the eight merged tribal districts plus Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Bannu and Lakki Marwat. It applies fully in the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan divisions and partly in Peshawar, Kohat and Malakand, while Hazara and Mardan are exempt. The paper described it as the fourth imposition of governor’s rule in the province and said internet disruption caused confusion. Tarar also said the military had been deployed under Article 245.
Why the Government Says It Acted
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the government spent a month trying to bring the provincial administration on board. “Our issue was only terrorism,” he said, according to the Express Tribune. Naqvi said 518 police personnel were killed over 18 months, while Tarar claimed terrorist incidents rose 196 percent over roughly two and a half years. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused the provincial government of an alliance with militants.
A Dawn analysis said the security challenges are real but argued that the case for governor’s rule must explain why existing constitutional machinery could no longer cope.
PTI Long March and Party Reaction
The PTI long march toward Islamabad began on October 4 to demand Imran Khan’s release, with Afridi leading it through the province, according to Open magazine. Al Jazeera reported that the march was first planned for September 27 and postponed to allow talks. Open added that Dawn had reported last week that the federal government was seriously considering an emergency.
PTI spokesman Zulfikar Bukhari said the decision would bring “further bloodshed, instability and collateral damage,” Reuters reported, as carried by Al Jazeera. UrduPoint reported that Barrister Gohar said people would not accept such steps, and that PTI leader Shahid Khattak urged supporters to block highways and head to Peshawar.
What Happens Next
Afridi took office in October 2025 after Ali Amin Gandapur stepped aside. None of the outlets reviewed reported an official statement on where he is held or under which case. The High Court hearing on October 20 is the next scheduled legal step.