Security tightened in Peshawar as Centre considers emergency rule amid PTI long march confrontation

Security forces enforced strict lockdown measures across Peshawar on Sunday, October 11, blocking major arterial roads with shipping containers and suspending cellular networks amid intensifying speculation that the federal government may impose governor's rule or emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

What security measures and blockades were deployed across Peshawar?

Traffic police and law enforcement personnel instituted a comprehensive security plan across the provincial capital, erecting container barricades around the Red Zone, Saddar Road, Khyber Road, FC Chowk, and Cantonment areas.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, alongside several provincial cabinet ministers and lawmakers, remained stranded inside the Chief Minister’s House as security restrictions tightened. Simultaneously, cellular and mobile internet services were shut down across Peshawar and adjacent districts to prevent crowd gathering as police issued updated public order guidelines authorizing anti-riot measures to manage potential demonstrations.

Tensions escalated further overnight following claims by provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan that security details assigned to cabinet ministers and lawmakers had been abruptly withdrawn.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati addressed a formal letter to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), demanding the immediate restoration of security details and emphasizing that withdrawing protection from elected representatives without legal justification violates established law.

How are political leaders and federal authorities reacting to the standoff?

Addressing the lockdown, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi declared that enforcing extraordinary administrative restrictions without formally declaring an emergency or governor's rule constitutes an unlawful action, warning that the provincial government will press forward with its ongoing long march demanding the release of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan. Following a joint session of its political and core committees, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rejected any potential imposition of governor's rule as an attack on the province's democratic mandate, reaffirming that peaceful protest remains a constitutional right.

Concurrently, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi met with President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad to review the province's security and political crisis.

Speaking to media following the meeting, Interior Minister Naqvi stated that exhausting administrative and political negotiations has left the federal government with few remaining options, suggesting that declaring a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid.

PTI leadership plans to convene additional core committee meetings in Swabi to determine further political action if formal constitutional emergency measures are enacted.