President Asif Ali Zardari declared the emergency on Sunday on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after the federal government said provincial authorities had failed to address rising Islamist militancy in the region bordering Afghanistan.
The decision sharply escalates a standoff between Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the government, coming a week after PTI supporters gathered in the province intending to march on Islamabad to demand Khan's release. Hundreds of activists and three of Khan's sisters were detained before the planned march, in what the PTI called one of the strongest crackdowns in years.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said the government's move was “more of a coup disguised as emergency,” adding that it risked inciting more bloodshed and instability and was intended to stop the protest.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said a provincial governor would take charge for an initial six months, but could stay as long as needed. The interior ministry said it would deploy troops in the province. Restrictions have been placed on the movements of the former provincial chief, Sohail Afridi.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the JUI-F political party who had been mediating between the government and PTI, also condemned the move. “Imposition of emergency is an ambush on democracy,” he told a news conference in Islamabad.
The federal government and the military accuse PTI of failing to curb militants, a charge the party rejects, saying Islamabad has not provided the funding and equipment needed. In Islamabad, tens of thousands of security forces have been deployed and roads lined with containers to block any protest march on parliament.
Candidates backed by Khan's party won the most seats in the 2024 election but formed a government only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Supporters of the 74-year-old former cricket star say the military rigged the vote against him, which the military denies. Imran Khan remains in jail on charges ranging from mishandling state gifts to instigating violence, with all but one conviction suspended or overturned and appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.