News
October 16, 2026
Joint Sitting of Parliament Endorses Emergency, Governor's Rule in KP amid Opposition Outcry
By Syed Irfan Raza
Islamabad: A joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday gave its approval to the Center’s imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid a strong protest from the opposition.
The joint session had been summoned to discuss separate resolutions on the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in KP, where the opposition’s PTI was in power.
During the session, which was addressed by both members of the treasury and opposition benches, the government justified its decision while the PTI lambasted the Center and the allegations levelled against the party.
The Center took the measures on Oct 11, citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. The move followed weeks of political tensions between the Center and the PTI — as well as negotiations to bridge their differences — after the latter announced a long march to Islamabad to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.
During Thursday’s joint sitting, opposition members turned up carrying placards inscribed with slogans, such as “emergency na manzoor (emergency is unacceptable)”.
PM Shehbaz, who attended part of the session, shook hands with opposition leaders of both the Senate and the NA, pictures and footage showed.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry tabled the two proclamations and separate resolutions regarding the emergency and governor’s rule.
After hours-long debate, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq put the two resolutions to a vote, while opposition members chanted “emergency unacceptable”.
The resolutions approving emergency and governor’s rule were then passed.
At the outset of the proceedings, Chaudhry also presented a motion under Rule 232 of the Parliament (Joint Sitting) Rules 1973 to suspend certain sub-rules so he could move the resolutions.
As loud noes echoed and opposition members chanted “emergency na manzoor”, the speaker again put the motion to a vote by asking the members to stand up, which was then adopted with 214-56 votes.
Subsequently, Chaudhry moved two resolutions before the joint sitting — one for approving the Proclamation of Emergency under Article 232 and the second for the proclamation of governor’s rule under Article 234.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar then opened the discussion on the two resolutions and said members of the treasury benches were ready to reply to any query raised by the opposition.
Speaking during Thursday’s joint sitting, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urged the opposition to stick to facts when recounting the dialogue held with the government, asserting that the Center had “no option left” but to impose emergency and governor’s rule in KP.
“By God, our hearts did not want to do this,” Naqvi remarked, adding that the treasury members were trying their best so that the measures were not taken in KP.
“I will request only that you let facts remain facts. […] We had no option left, after which we did this and you will definitely oppose it, but we should consider the facts,” the minister said as he sought to provide a “clarification” on the allegations levelled by the opposition.
“Please do not say that we misused terrorism.”
He also refuted what he said was the opposition’s stance that the government delegation left the talks. “We did not get up and leave […] we did not even urge you to hurry up.”
Naqvi, who was part of the government’s delegation during the Oct 3 talks , emphasized: “We tried until the last minute […] It was our effort until the last hour that this (emergency/governor’s rule) is not imposed.”
The minister concluded his speech by reaffirming the Centre’s determination to fight the wave of terrorism. He said the fight could not be waged “under two [different] policies” of the federation and the province.
He urged the PTI to hold discussions with the KP government on what matters were wrong, adding: “No political party should be accused of terrorism. This is a major thing. But if something has happened, it should be fixed.”
Gohar objects to allegations of ‘backing terrorists’
Speaking on the Parliament’s floor, PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the country was going through a “very fragile situation”.
He lamented that the KP government was accused of “backing terrorists”.
“The prime minister has alleged that we are supporting terrorists. We are disappointed to hear that. You have to apologize to the entire population of KP and us,” he said.
“Prime minister, you have given a message to the entire world that one of the federating units of the country was backing terrorists,” Gohar added.
He highlighted that the opposition stood with the government during a war with India. “But today we are called supporters of terrorists,” he regretted.
Barrister Gohar rejected the proclamation of emergency and declared that the PTI will make the country stronger and eradicate terrorism when it comes to power again.
He also rejected the government’s claims that PTI leaders did not attend funerals of martyrs, recalling that he himself had attended multiple funerals in KP.
Gohar said the PTI was willing to engage in dialogue with the government provided that its demands were met.
He lamented that speeches of opposition members were not shown in the media.
“Don’t politicize the issue of terrorism,” Barrister Gohar urged.
“Do not put the nation and the federation at stake for the sake of your narrative. This (terrorism) is not just an issue for a province or the federation. Rather, it was a state-level issue. Time will prove that your decision was political,” he added.
He also rejected the allegations that the PTI was the reason behind the breakdown of talks with the government ahead of the imposition of governor’s rule in KP. - Dawn
Courtesy Dawn
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