Senator Faisal Vawda has clearly stated that the governor’s rule and emergency currently in place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are unlikely to end within 90 or even 180 days. Speaking on Geo News programme Jirga, the senator painted a picture of a political landscape where no major party currently holds strong political capital. He believes everyone in the country now needs to put in more effort than before.
Vawda openly praised the prime minister’s present performance and described the ongoing situation as only the first part of a longer process. He indicated that further stages are still to come. At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of additional governor’s rule, martial law, or a presidential system being imposed in the near future.
The senator also advised the government to carefully address the reservations expressed by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. According to Vawda, Pakistan has now started moving toward what he called positive democracy. On his own Senate election, he noted that the PPP and MQM-P supported him while the PML-N did not, stressing that he has no connection with the latter party. He further claimed that the PTI founder has gone much further in politics than the founder of the MQM.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recently shifted to a new administrative arrangement after President Asif Ali Zardari imposed emergency and governor’s rule. This decision followed the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The move came after the federal cabinet reviewed reports on the province’s law and order situation.
Under the new setup, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi now performs the functions of the provincial government with help from an 11-member advisory council. Parliament has taken over the legislative powers of the provincial assembly. The presidential proclamation makes it clear that the chief minister, provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants and the advocate general have ceased to hold office. The provincial assembly itself has not been dissolved.
Vawda’s remarks suggest that the current administrative phase in the province may last longer than many expect, while political stakeholders are being urged to work constructively within the changed framework.
