Pakistan places Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under emergency rule after talks with PTI collapse amid protests

Pakistan placed a northern province under emergency rule on Sunday the presidents office said following antigovernment demonstrations by supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and militant violence in the northwestThousands of Khans supporters have been marching in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to demand his release and airing antigovernment criticism fuelled by harsh economic conditionsThe emergency move invoked under two articles of Pakistans constitution dealing with security grants the federal government sweeping administrative powers over the provincePresident Asif Ali Zardari signed the order after recommendations regarding the law and order situation and the failure of negotiations with government delegations his office saidAn image issued by Zardaris office showed his signature affirming the measuresPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs office said earlier the decision had been taken over the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and from the provincial governments deliberate indifference in the war against terrorismKhyber Pakhtunkhwa is a stronghold of Khans Pakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI party and the PTIled government there will be sidelined under Sundays extraordinary constitutional measuresPTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan called the move an extremely alarming and grave political mistake and an undemocratic measureThe people will never accept such actions against their rights he posted on XAn increased security presence could be seen in Peshawar the provincial capital on Sunday according to an AFP reporter and roads in other cities in the province also remained closedPTI supporters began long march demonstrations between towns and cities throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a week ago after talks with the government broke downTalks deadlockKhan a hugely popular former cricket star has been behind bars since August 2023 and faces scores of charges ranging from corruption to treason and inciting violence following widespread antiestablishment riots in May that yearHe and his legal team reject the allegations branding them as politically motivated cases aimed at neutralising his popularityThe government had sought to avoid the opposition show of force but had also tied negotiations on PTI demands to agreement on security measures in PTIruled Khyber PakhtunkhwaThe protesters demands included access to Khan by his doctors Talks broke down on 4 October prompting the start of the demonstrationsIn a separate security challenge Pakistan has blamed an increase in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern border province of Balochistan on militancy emanating from AfghanistanThe Taliban government in Kabul denies such claims and criticises Pakistan for violating Afghanistans sovereignty and killing civiliansThe accusations have sparked a bitter rift and armed conflict between the neighbouring countriesAfghanistan and Pakistan went to war in February and there have been sporadic attacks since a truce was reached in March after no permanent security resolution was reachedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever