PESHAWAR -UNS: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) is scheduled to hear petitions challenging the imposition of an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 20.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Advocate Salman Khan have filed separate petitions seeking to overturn the decisions. The respondents include the Federation of Pakistan, the president, the prime minister, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor and other relevant authorities.
In its petition filed through lawyer Ali Zaman, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has urged the court to declare the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule unconstitutional and set aside the relevant decisions.
The party argued that using terrorism as a justification to restrict the powers of an elected provincial government amounted to discriminatory treatment. It maintained that political differences could not be used as grounds to deprive the provincial administration of its constitutional authority.
The petition also questioned why governor’s rule had not been imposed in Balochistan despite terrorist attacks and casualties, or in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the 2007–2015 period. According to the PTI, the decision targeting the current provincial government was discriminatory.
While expressing support for counterterrorism operations and efforts to restore peace, the party alleged that accusations of insufficient action against militancy were being used to exert political pressure on its government.
The PTI further stated that it had secured a two-thirds majority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 2024 general elections, arguing that the public mandate should be respected.
The petition maintained that governor’s rule must meet the constitutional requirements under Article 234. It also called for the emergency proclamation to be examined under Article 232 and the relevant parliamentary procedures.
The party additionally denied that any unlawful action had been planned as part of its proposed long march.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the imposition of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, following advice from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The federal government invoked Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, citing the province’s deteriorating security situation and concerns over the effectiveness of its counterterrorism efforts.
The PTI, which governs the province, has challenged the federal government’s decision, with the PHC set to take up the petitions on October 20.
