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Clashes erupted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after Pakistan imposed emergency rule. Police allegedly fired live rounds, a claim the provincial administration denies as baseless.
Violent clashes broke out in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday between police and supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The unrest followed the federal government’s imposition of emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the only province governed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Party officials and local reports stated that police fired tear gas and live rounds at protesters in Bara Bazaar, near the provincial capital of Peshawar. According to Dawn, at least five protesters suffered bullet injuries. PTI information secretary Ikram Khatana said unidentified people set fire to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in Bara and stormed nearby government buildings.
The provincial administration under the governor rejected these claims. Samar Haroon Bilour, an official for the new administration, described allegations of live firing as "baseless and frivolous" and attributed them to anonymous social media accounts using AI-generated footage. She stated that police responded to rioting and vandalism in a "calibrated way" and that about 50 people had been arrested. Reuters could not independently verify the footage or the competing accounts of the shooting.
Pakistan’s president declared emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, suspending the PTI-led provincial government. The federal government cited a surge in militant violence and the provincial administration’s alleged failure to cooperate in counterterrorism efforts. Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi justified the move by arguing that federal rule was necessary to combat "terrorism" in the province bordering Afghanistan. "No war can be won, however many resources you bring, whatever you do, until the government there leads it," Mr. Naqvi told reporters.
The PTI has condemned the takeover as a political coup. PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari shared videos on X linked to the violence, calling the emergency a coup and warning that protests could spread. "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province left with a genuine democratic mandate," Mr. Bukhari said. "Now, even that last shred of democracy has been stripped away."
The PTI has filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court challenging the federal government’s takeover, arguing it is "unconstitutional, illegal and motivated by mala fide intentions." The petition names President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi as respondents.
Imran Khan has been jailed since 2023 on charges including inciting riots targeting military sites and corruption, which he denies as politically motivated. His wife and three sisters are also in detention. The imposition of governor’s rule marks a significant escalation in the standoff between the federal government and the PTI, which has governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for 13 years.
The suspension of the PTI’s last provincial stronghold intensifies the political crisis in Pakistan, pitting the federal government’s security narrative against the opposition’s claims of democratic erosion. The violence and subsequent legal challenges highlight the deepening polarization and the potential for further instability in a region bordering Afghanistan.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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