Shehbaz Sharif Reviews Security After Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Peshawar on October 22 to chair a high-level Apex Committee meeting at the Governor House. This marked his first trip to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since October 11, when President Asif Ali Zardari approved the imposition of governor's rule and a state of emergency. The federal government invoked Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution to transfer executive authority from Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, citing a sharp increase in terrorist attacks and the failure of the provincial government to maintain law and order.

During the security review, Sharif defended the emergency measures as a decision made under "extreme compulsion" and accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of negligence. To stabilize the region, the government authorized the Pakistan Army to assist civil administration under Article 245 and established an 11-member advisory council. Additionally, a 10-member committee including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was formed to provide policy guidelines for governance.

Proposed strategies include police reforms, increased recruitment, and a multibillion-rupee development package targeting 12 terrorism-affected districts, such as Bajaur, Khyber, and North Waziristan. While the federal government maintains the takeover is necessary to combat terrorism, the PTI has challenged the move in court, describing it as an assault on its electoral mandate and provincial autonomy.