Islamabad, October 14,2026: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday defended the imposition of an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, blaming the PTI-led provincial government’s approach to terrorism for the circumstances that led to the decision.
Addressing the National Assembly, Bilawal described the KP government’s actions as a “political suicide attack” and said the emergency had been imposed in accordance with the Constitution.
The parliamentary session was convened to debate the federal government’s decision to impose emergency rule in the province. The question hour was suspended to allow discussion on the issue, while Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry tabled a motion concerning the emergency proclamation and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar opened the debate.
Bilawal said President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the emergency in accordance with the Constitution after the government made efforts to engage the opposition through talks.
He said the measure had been imposed out of necessity and was not intended to continue indefinitely.
“I am still asking the government today to extend its hand towards the opposition for negotiations,” Bilawal said, renewing his offer of dialogue.
He urged the opposition to help create political conditions that would make the emergency unnecessary, adding that he would personally ask the prime minister to withdraw it if such circumstances emerged. However, he reiterated that the PPP supported the decision to impose emergency rule in KP.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the house that the KP government’s approach to counterterrorism posed a threat to national security.
Responding to criticism that the emergency was intended to remove an elected government, Tarar said the proposal had been discussed for around two and a half hours during a federal cabinet meeting before the decision was taken.
He also alleged that the ideology of a political party had contributed to the spread of terrorism.
Criticising Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, whose government was rendered non-functional following the imposition of governor’s rule, the law minister said the chief minister had disregarded the sacrifices of armed forces personnel and civilians who had lost their lives in the fight against terrorism.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan criticised the federal government’s decision, describing it as an “assault on democracy” and alleging that terrorism was being used as a pretext to impose emergency and governor’s rule in the province.
He claimed that the government was using the security situation to justify measures that had disrupted the functioning of the provincial administration.
The emergency was proclaimed by President Asif Ali Zardari on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with the federal government citing the worsening security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to a statement issued by the President Secretariat’s Media Wing, the decision followed recommendations from the federal cabinet, formal advice from the prime minister and law-and-order reports submitted by relevant security institutions.
