PTI challenges Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emergency rule in Peshawar High Court

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has challenged emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Peshawar High Court, calling the measures unconstitutional. The opposition party wants its provincial government restored after the federal government imposed emergency and governor's rule on Oct. 11, 2026, citing rising terrorist attacks.

What is PTI asking the court to do about emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

PTI asks the Peshawar High Court to declare the emergency proclamation and governor's rule unconstitutional. It also wants detained Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his provincial cabinet reinstated, the parallel KP Advisory Council and Area Development Secretariat invalidated, and the order authorizing military deployment under Article 245 overturned.

Who filed the petition and what does it say?

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan filed an 86-page constitutional petition in the Peshawar High Court. It challenges President Asif Ali Zardari's proclamation of emergency and the imposition of governor's rule in the northwestern province on Oct. 11, 2026. The petition argues that the measures unlawfully displaced a democratically elected government.

It says the measures violate Articles 1, 2A, 4, 9, 10, 10A, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 19A, 25, 130, 175(3), 232, 234 and 245 of Pakistan's Constitution.

What constitutional arguments does PTI make?

PTI argues that the 18th Constitutional Amendment, passed in 2010, requires a prior resolution by the provincial assembly to declare an emergency on grounds of "internal disturbances." The petition says this mandatory requirement was bypassed.

PTI's legal counsel also argued that Article 234 allows a governor to temporarily assume provincial government functions. It does not, they said, authorize the president to end an elected chief minister's tenure outside a parliamentary floor test under Article 130.

The petition further challenges the Area Development Secretariat (ADS) across 12 former tribal districts. It describes the body as an unconstitutional attempt to revive a colonial administrative framework and undermine judicial independence without a formal constitutional amendment.

The party also alleges political victimization, noting that no emergency rule has been imposed in Balochistan despite serious security challenges there. It says the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was used as a pretext to remove a government led by the political opposition.

Why did the federal government impose emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

The federal government imposed emergency rule and governor's rule on Oct. 11, citing an increase in terrorist attacks. It alleged that the provincial government had failed to demonstrate the "ownership, will and intent" to tackle lawlessness.

Zardari issued the proclamation under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. It followed months of negotiations between the federal administration and the PTI-led provincial government. The federal government said the talks collapsed after the provincial administration refused to cooperate on a unified counterterrorism strategy.