ISLAMABAD, October 18 (ANI) — After decades of sponsoring cross-border militancy and nurturing terrorism as an instrument of state policy, Pakistan’s establishment has plunged further into authoritarianism by enforcing a state of emergency and Governor’s Rule across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The move has effectively suspended the regional administration led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the political party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The emergency directive formally took effect on Sunday, October 11, 2026, invoking Articles 232 and 234 of the national Constitution.
Terrorism within Pakistan is fundamentally homegrown, stemming from a deliberate policy pursued by the country for more than five decades in its quest for strategic depth.
As former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton famously remarked, one cannot raise snakes in a backyard and expect them to bite only the neighbors; eventually, they will turn on their keepers. Rather than learning from this outcome, Pakistan began distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable terrorist factions.
The state has also repeatedly shifted its approach toward elements hostile to it. During General Bajwa’s tenure, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) cadres were relocated to parts of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).
Facing an inability to manage the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities responded by imposing a state of emergency and Governor’s Rule overnight.
Having previously imprisoned a former prime minister and eroded judicial independence through constitutional amendments, the administration has now deprived its principal opposition party of its last remaining provincial government, marking another blow to elected governance amid ongoing democratic backsliding.
Far from restoring normalcy, an emergency has been declared across 12 districts in KPK, placing them under direct federal rule and further marginalizing tribal communities that have long borne the brunt of failed security policies. The constitutional separation of judicial and executive powers has also been set aside in these districts.
Instead of addressing the underlying failures that brought KPK to this crisis, authorities have concentrated power in unelected hands while deploying the military in civilian affairs, making the displacement of civilian authority by the security establishment increasingly apparent.
Analysts say the widespread human rights violations witnessed during past military operations, such as Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasad, remain vivid in public memory even as preparations are made to impose further hardship on civilians.
Beyond removing an elected government, authorities have detained opposition leaders and legislators, raided their residences and suppressed political demonstrations, treating political opposition itself as a security threat.
The crackdown has extended to the streets, where protesters face police gunfire, tear gas and mass arrests. A government claiming to restore law and order is instead confronting its own citizens with heavy-handed repression, echoing events in Khyber before a blanket media ban was imposed on developments in the province.
Decades of failed security policies have already subjected tribal communities in KPK to displacement, civilian casualties and prolonged insecurity. With thousands of displaced families still awaiting their return and rehabilitation, these populations now face another round of extraordinary intervention.
The emergency in KPK marks the culmination of a consolidation of power by the military establishment that began with the imprisonment of a former prime minister. Following constitutional amendments that curtailed judicial independence and shielded military leadership from accountability, the removal and arrest of elected representatives have transformed the Constitution into an instrument for securing unelected power rather than safeguarding against it. (ANI)
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