Imran Khan party to challenge federal takeover of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party plans to launch a legal challenge on Tuesday against the federal government's takeover of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Al Jazeera and The Guardian reported that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari declared a state of emergency and suspended the provincial government on Sunday. Al Jazeera said the emergency laws suspended civil liberties and imposed governor's rule in the region. [1][2]

The Guardian reported that politicians from the opposition party have been detained by authorities following the takeover. Firstpost also reported that hundreds of supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan were detained, along with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister. The Guardian noted that the government in the north-western province was led by Sohail Afridi, an ally of Imran Khan. [2][6]

According to Al Jazeera, Sheikh Waqas Akram, the information secretary for the party, stated that a petition was drafted by a legal committee headed by secretary general Salman Akram Raja. The party has not specified whether the legal challenge will be filed in the Supreme Court or the Federal Constitutional Court. The federal government claimed the provincial leadership failed to lead the fight against armed groups. [1]

Imran Khan served as the prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022 and founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is located in the north-western region of the country and shares an international border with Afghanistan. As FTMQ News reported earlier, federal authorities imposed the state of emergency after accusing the provincial government of disengaging from counter-terrorism efforts. [7][8][10]