POLITICAL HEAT: President Asif Ali Zardari has declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari has declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Article 232 of the Constitution on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

According to a statement issued by the Presidency, the President of Pakistan decided to declare a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Article 232 of the Constitution of Pakistan. The state of emergency was declared in view of the increasing incidents of terrorism and the serious situation of law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the presidential statement, the extraordinary intensity of terrorist incidents has posed serious threats to the lives and property of the people; terrorist attacks on government installations, infrastructure and law enforcement agencies have increased; and the provincial government has failed to demonstrate the required determination and measures to effectively combat terrorism and lawlessness.

The statement said that the report of the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pointed out the breakdown of the constitutional system in the province and the inability of the provincial government to function in accordance with the constitution.

President Asif Ali Zardari called for immediate constitutional action in view of the serious emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Presidential Proclamation was issued under Article 232(1) and Article 234(1) of the Constitution, declaring that the provincial government cannot function in accordance with the Constitution in the present circumstances, the federal government may direct the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to take over all or some of the affairs of the provincial government.

According to the Proclamation, the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be able to carry out the affairs of the provincial government delegated by the federal government, and the Governor will be able to exercise all or some of the powers of other institutions and authorities of the province, other than the Provincial Assembly, on the instructions of the federal government.

The powers of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be exercised under the authority of the Parliament or its authority, and the Chief Minister, provincial ministers, advisors, special assistants and the Advocate General will immediately vacate their positions.

The Presidential Proclamation issued from the Presidency will come into effect immediately.

Earlier, the federal cabinet approved the imposition of emergency after a detailed review of the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally recommended to President Asif Ali Zardari to impose emergency in view of the seriousness of the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The meeting chaired by the Prime Minister was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Advisor Rana Sanaullah, Minister of State Talal Chaudhry, Amir Muqam, Syed Imran Shah, Hanif Abbasi, Moin Wattoo, Pervez Khattak, Ahad Cheema, Mustafa Kamal and Haroon Akhtar.

The federal cabinet was briefed on the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the worsening terrorism situation.

The cabinet reviewed the situation in detail in view of the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the deliberate indifference of the provincial government to the fight against terrorism.

The federal cabinet suggested to the Prime Minister to advise the President that in view of the gravity of the situation, the President should exercise his constitutional authority to impose a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

In this regard, an advice was sent from the Prime Minister’s House to the Presidency, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State Talal Chaudhry reached the Presidency and informed the President of the decision of the federal cabinet.

Earlier, it was suggested in the cabinet that a final effort should be made through Maulana Fazlur Rehman before any final decision regarding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

During the meeting itself, Deputy Prime Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar contacted Maulana Fazlur Rehman and said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should support the federal government against terrorism.