Emergency rule and the suspended government

Pakistan's president declared an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, 11 October, and suspended the provincial government, the only one the PTI led. The federal government called the step constitutional and necessary to protect residents from terrorism. Under the arrangement a newly appointed governor will run the province directly, assisted by an advisory council, at first for six months and possibly longer. Federal information minister Attaullah Tarar said the government had "solid evidence" that the PTI administration worked "hand in glove with the terrorists", yet by Tuesday, 13 October, he had offered no details. Home minister Mohsin Naqvi defended the emergency on Monday, 12 October, while the federal government denies that domestic politics drove the decision.

Clashes in Bara and Peshawar

On Tuesday, 13 October, PTI supporters clashed with police and government buildings were set alight. Dozens of protesters gathered in Bara, in Khyber district, the hometown of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, where tear gas was reportedly fired. In Bara Bazaar in Peshawar, police began with batons and tear gas; when the crowd pushed forward, officers fell back into nearby shops, local news reports said, before firing tear gas and shots into the air. Dawn reported that police gunfire left at least five protesters with bullet injuries. PTI information secretary Ikram Khatana said unidentified people torched the NADRA office in Bara, about 15km from Peshawar, and stormed nearby government offices. Samar Haroon Bilour, an official of the new provincial administration, rejected the shooting allegations as baseless and frivolous, blamed anonymous social media accounts spreading AI-generated footage, and said police had arrested 50 people.

Protesters with bullet injuries (at least, per Dawn)5

Arrests (per Samar Haroon Bilour)50

Protesters with bullet injuries (at least, per Dawn)

5

Arrests (per Samar Haroon Bilour)

50

Data from the article text

Detentions, shutdowns and party claims

Police have not confirmed any detentions, but a crackdown to head off protests is evident, and most PTI leaders in the province have gone into hiding. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi's whereabouts are unclear: the party says he has been arrested, while the government says he is in protective custody. Schools that were shut have reopened in Peshawar and most of the province, and internet services have been restored. Roads were blocked with shipping containers, and troops were deployed in the city.

Zulfikar Bukhari, the PTI spokesperson, shared videos on X linked to the Bara Bazaar violence and warned that protests against the emergency could spread. He had earlier argued that the province was the last place where the party held a genuine democratic mandate.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province left with a genuine democratic mandate.”

Bukhari also framed the arrangement as a coup in disguise.

“This is more a coup disguised as emergency and governor rule.”

Khan's stronghold and wider stakes

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been Khan's stronghold for 13 years, and it was the only province the PTI ruled. Khan has been jailed since 2023 on charges of inciting riots targeting military sites and of corruption, which he and his supporters say are politically motivated. His wife is also in jail and his three sisters are in detention. Khan was removed in 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which he blamed on the military acting at the behest of the United States. Thousands of his supporters have staged protests demanding his release, and the province has suffered an increasing number of militant attacks. The emergency could further strain already tense relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Journalist Arifa Noor said she could see no link between the emergency and terrorism.