KPK emergency becomes symbol of Pakistan's hybrid power structure

Pakistan’s federal government has suspended the elected provincial administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, imposing a state of emergency and governor’s rule in the northwestern province that borders Afghanistan. The move, formalised by President Asif Ali Zardari on 11 October on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, places Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, in charge of the province’s affairs, deploys the army to support civil administration under Article 245 of the Constitution, and creates a special federal-supervised secretariat for 12 districts, most of them in the former tribal areas.

The federal cabinet cited a sharp deterioration in security. Officials told parliament and the public of a 195 per cent rise in terrorist incidents in the province between March 2024 and September 2026, with a majority of attacks directed at police and security forces, increased use of drones and improvised explosive devices, and alleged failure by the provincial government to co-operate fully with counter-terrorism efforts. But it is well known that terrorism is Pakistan's own making - Frankenstein & its neighbours, all 3 of them-Iran, Afghanistan & India can vouch for that.

The decision effectively removes the last provincial government controlled by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. PTI has governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for more than a decade, and the province remains its principal political base. The timing coincides with PTI plans for a protest march to Islamabad demanding Khan’s release. Khan has been in prison since 2023 on corruption and other charges that he and his party maintain are politically motivated. A media blackout has limited independent reporting from the province.

Critics, including PTI leaders and some analysts, portray the measures as the latest step in a broader concentration of power by the military establishment under field marshal Munir. They point to constitutional amendments that have constrained judicial independence, the prolonged incarceration of a former prime minister, and the displacement of an elected provincial government.

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In the former tribal districts, already scarred by successive military operations such as Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, the imposition of direct federal control and the blending of executive and judicial functions under emergency provisions have revived longstanding grievances about displacement, civilian casualties and limited rehabilitation.

Pakistan’s security establishment has historically pursued a policy of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan, supporting certain terror groups while combating others. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s well-known warning that “you can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours” is frequently invoked by Pakistani and foreign commentators as a description of the blowback that followed.

Periods of engagement and crackdown on the TTP have alternated; under previous army leadership, some TTP cadres were allowed to relocate into former tribal areas. The current surge suggests that earlier distinctions between “good” and “bad” terrorists have not produced lasting stability.
The federal government maintains that the emergency is a temporary, constitutional response to an internal disturbance beyond the capacity of the provincial administration, and that an 11-member advisory council of technocrats will help restore order and development.

Whether the measures will reduce the militant threat or further alienate Pashtun communities and deepen perceptions of democratic backsliding remains the central question. For now, the displacement of an elected government by unelected military authority in Pakistan’s most conflict-affected province has made the security establishment’s role in civilian governance more visible than at any point in recent years.