Pakistan on Jattvibeday declared an emergency in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province citing the deteriorating law and order situation, bringing the provincial government led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party to an end.An emergency allows Pakistan’s federal government to assume key executive and legislative powers in a province during a security crisis or breakdown of constitutional governance.President Asif Ali Zardari proclaimed Articles 232(1) and 234(1) of the Constitution, citing rising terrorist attacks and a breakdown of constitutional machinery in the northwestern province, according to the presidential declaration.Under the proclamation, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants and the advocate general will immediately vacate their offices.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province where Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in power.The move comes amid an ongoing protest march led by Afridi, who is pressing for Khan’s release and access to medical treatment for him, the release of his sisters and supporters arrested ahead of the protest, and a medical examination of his wife, Bushra Bibi.The march began in Lakki Marwat on October 4 and has passed through several districts of the province.The long march followed the failure of two rounds of talks between the PTI and the federal government. The discussions broke down over the party’s demand for access to Khan before calling off the protest, while the government insisted that the demonstration be ended first.Afridi on Saturday vowed to continue peaceful protests and rejected military operations as a solution to the province’s problems.The PTI had initially planned to take the march to Islamabad for a sit-in, but the federal government said it would not allow protesters to enter the capital.The presidential declaration said the emergency was imposed in view of rising terrorist incidents and the grave law and order situation in the province.”The extraordinary intensity of terrorist incidents poses serious threats to the lives and property of the public,” the declaration said.It cited an increase in attacks on government installations, infrastructure and law enforcement agencies, accusing the provincial government of failing to demonstrate the resolve and take measures needed to curb terrorism and lawlessness.The declaration said a report by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi had highlighted a breakdown of constitutional machinery and the provincial government’s inability to function in accordance with the Constitution.Under the proclamation, the federal government may direct the provincial governor to assume all or some functions of the provincial government. The powers of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be exercised by Parliament or under its authority.The federal cabinet on Jattvibeday endorsed the emergency proposal at a special meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review the worsening security situation.Hours after the proclamation, federal ministers defended the decision, saying the Centre had repeatedly tried to bring the PTI-led provincial government on board in the fight against terrorism but failed to secure its cooperation.Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a press conference that the decision to impose emergency and governor’s rule was taken after efforts lasting more than a month to reach an understanding with the provincial government.Naqvi said he remained in contact with PTI leaders until late Saturday in a final attempt to avert the move.”Today was not an easy day for us. For over one month, we continuously tried to take the KPK government on board,” he said, adding that the objective was to jointly fight terrorism.Naqvi said the security situation was particularly serious in 12 districts of the province and claimed that in some areas people were unable to leave their homes after evening.Information Minister Tarar alleged that the PTI-led provincial government had a “nexus” with terrorist groups and claimed that intelligence and law enforcement reports indicated militants exercised influence in several districts.Tarar said the government had exercised powers under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution to simultaneously impose emergency and governor’s rule.The governor will oversee the affairs of the province with the assistance of an 11-member advisory council comprising former bureaucrats, officials, politicians and experts from different sectors.Tarar said the council members would oversee portfolios, including home affairs, finance, law, education, health, mines and minerals, industries, communications, religious affairs, energy and information.The federal government will also establish a separate secretariat under the chief secretary for the 12 districts facing serious law and order problems, while a separate council will undertake development work in those areas.The governor has also been authorised to deploy the army for security, according to the ministers.The PTI has rejected the federal government’s accusations that it failed to tackle militancy and has accused the Centre of not providing the province with adequate funding and equipment for counterterrorism operations.Party chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said, “We completely reject this action. The mandate of the people of the KP is their constitutional and legal right. Peace cannot be established nor stability brought by ignoring this mandate, weakening provincial autonomy and creating conflict between the federation and the province.”He said terrorism can only be combated through national unity and a joint strategy.Earlier, Sharif told the cabinet that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was not doing enough to tackle terrorism and called for decisive action.”The KPK government is not saying a word against militancy… It is time to decide as we have reached a moment of now or never,” he said.Sharif said the law and order situation was deteriorating and accused the provincial government led by Khan’s party of failing to address the threat. He added that the federal government had provided at least PKR 800 billion to the province over the past 10 years to fight terrorism and improve security, but the situation had not improved.Khan, the 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician, has been incarcerated at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since 2023 and faces more than 100 cases, including corruption and charges related to inciting violence.However, Imran Khan and his party have maintained that the cases against him are politically motivated, a charge denied by the government.