ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate have approved resolutions endorsing the imposition of an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), amid protests and a walkout by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers.
The Senate passed the resolution by a majority on Wednesday after PTI members chanted slogans and staged a walkout. Earlier, the National Assembly approved the measure following more than four hours of debate.
The resolutions endorse the presidential proclamation issued on October 11 under Article 232 of the Constitution. The move has intensified tensions between the federal government and PTI, which previously governed the province.
The federal government has justified the emergency and governor’s rule by citing rising militant attacks and concerns over the provincial administration’s handling of counterterrorism operations. President Asif Ali Zardari approved the measures on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following a federal cabinet meeting.
However, PTI leaders have rejected the government’s position, arguing that security concerns are being used to undermine the party’s political influence in KP. The emergency was imposed as PTI prepared a long march towards Islamabad to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.
PTI has challenged the imposition of the emergency and governor’s rule in the Peshawar High Court, setting the stage for a legal battle over the federal government’s intervention.
Meanwhile, the federal government has approved an Area Development Secretariat to oversee governance, security and development in several southern and former tribal districts, including Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Kurram and North Waziristan.
The parliamentary approvals come amid an intensifying dispute over security policy, provincial authority and political control between Islamabad and the former PTI-led provincial administration.
