PTI KP emergency petitions will be heard by the Peshawar High Court on October 20. The party has challenged the recent imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling the measures unconstitutional.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Advocate Salman Khan filed separate petitions. The respondents named include the Federation of Pakistan, the president, the prime minister, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor and other concerned authorities.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the emergency on October 11 on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The federal government pointed to the province’s worsening security situation and difficulties in counterterrorism work as the reason for the step. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has since taken charge of the province with support from an 11-member technocratic advisory council.
Parliament later approved the emergency and governor’s rule in a joint sitting. The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan announced it was ending talks with the centre, describing the moves as unconstitutional.
In its petition, PTI has asked the court to declare both the emergency and governor’s rule illegal and set them aside. The party argues that citing terrorism to remove powers from an elected provincial government amounts to discriminatory treatment. It notes that governor’s rule was not imposed in Balochistan despite ongoing terrorism and loss of life there, nor was it used in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the difficult years between 2007 and 2015.
PTI maintains it supports genuine counterterrorism efforts but claims the accusations of failure are being used to apply political pressure. The party also points out that it won a two-thirds majority in the province in the 2024 general elections.
The petition stresses that any use of Article 234 must follow the exact constitutional procedure. It further asks the court to examine the emergency declaration under Article 232 and the related parliamentary requirements. PTI also states that no illegal action was planned during its long march.
The upcoming hearing will decide whether the federal measures meet the constitutional tests or whether they should be set aside.
