Pakistan imposes state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Authorities in Pakistan declared a state of emergency in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, October 11, 2026. Al Jazeera, Reuters, the Hindustan Times, and NST Online all report that the move suspends the provincial government run by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the political party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. [1][2][3][6]

According to Al Jazeera, the prime minister's office stated that the cabinet action followed the deliberate disengagement of the provincial government from combating terrorism. President Asif Ali Zardari confirmed on social media that he approved the cabinet recommendations following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Al Jazeera added that the emergency was invoked under two constitutional articles concerning national security. [1]

The enforcement of emergency rule follows recent mass protests by supporters of Imran Khan. The National reported on October 10 that supporters of the jailed leader staged mass demonstrations and marched towards the capital city of Islamabad. [4][5]

Khan founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 1996 and served as the nineteenth prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. A former international cricketer who captained Pakistan to a World Cup victory in 1992, he has faced over 180 legal cases and multiple convictions since leaving office. [7][9]