Party lists arrests, frozen funds and rising attacks; Centre says the measure is needed to restore security and will stay until its goals are met.
PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has released a charge sheet marking the first 30 days of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, accusing the federal government of using an emergency declared to fight terrorism to pursue its political opponents instead.
The federal government imposed an emergency under Article 232 and governor’s rule under Article 234 on Oct 11, removing the PTI-led provincial government of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, and says the move was needed because security in the province had collapsed.
PTI alleges
In a video posted on its social media accounts, the party listed new FIRs against elected representatives, the reopening of old cases, obstacles to bail and what it called an ineffective Peshawar High Court. It said leaders including the chief minister had been arrested or detained, workers’ homes raided and protesters held under Section 144.
The party also said development funds for its legislators had been frozen, members barred from their constituencies, the provincial assembly left unsummoned and elected representatives shut out of administrative decisions.
Citing the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the PTI said 32 security personnel and civilians had been killed in terrorist incidents in the 30 days since the proclamation. The Lahore Times could not independently verify the figure.
The government’s case
Federal ministers reject the charges. When the emergency was declared, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused the former PTI government of being “hand in glove” with militants and allowing them to spread from the southern districts.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who heads an 11-member advisory council running the province, has ruled out concessions to what he calls anti-state elements, raised compensation for martyred police and promised higher salaries for the force. Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, said on Nov 6 that governor’s rule would continue until its objectives were met and that no formal talks with the PTI were under way.
Parliament’s joint sitting approved the emergency and governor’s rule for two months on Oct 15, with 214 votes for the emergency resolution and 56 against. The Constitution allows extensions in periods of up to two months, to a maximum of six months.
Violence has not let up
Militant attacks have continued under the new administration. The PTI’s video cited the death of Counter-Terrorism Department DSP Imranuddin, who was martyred with three colleagues in an ambush in Karak on Oct 22.
On Nov 11, at least 10 policemen, including a DSP, were martyred when militants attacked a police team returning from an operation against illegal gold mining near Kohat. Police said 18 attackers were killed and that the assault exposed links between criminal mining networks and militants.
Courts and talks
The PTI is fighting on two fronts. On Nov 12 its chairman, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, asked the Federal Constitutional Court to review its Nov 5 order and allow the Peshawar High Court to resume hearing petitions against the emergency. Late last month the party’s provincial lawmakers, meeting with former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, backed negotiations with the Centre aimed at ending governor’s rule.
The debate is familiar to readers in Punjab. The Lahore Times has examined why the measure was confined to KP, and Punjab minister Bilal Yasin has said the emergency was no cause for celebration. The next decision point comes in mid-December, when the two-month parliamentary approval runs out and the government must decide whether to seek an extension.
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