Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi defended the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday. He said the Centre had spent more than a month trying to bring the provincial government into a joint fight against terrorism. The briefing, where Naqvi defends KP emergency measures as a last resort, came hours after President Asif Ali Zardari approved the federal cabinet’s recommendation.
Naqvi spoke alongside Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry. He gave reporters a detailed account of the contacts between the two sides. The Centre says the PTI administration had disengaged from counterterrorism work, a charge the PTI rejects. Our report on the emergency and governor’s rule imposed in KP sets out the constitutional steps taken on Sunday.
A month of background contacts, Naqvi says
Naqvi said the decision had not been easy for the government. “Today was not an easy day for us,” he said. He added that he had stayed personally in touch with the KP side in the background for over a month. The only goal, he said, was to take the province on board so both governments could fight terrorism together.
He also questioned the need for the PTI’s long march, saying its demands were already under consideration before the march was announced. Some people in the PTI itself, he claimed, could not understand why the march was taking place. The march had earlier reached Swabi, where the PTI said it remained open to talks, yet the two tracks never met.
The minister recalled a separate attempt at dialogue last month. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wanted to meet the National Assembly opposition leader and proposed forming a committee, he said. However, the government received no confirmation, so the meeting never happened before the prime minister travelled abroad. A committee for the October 3 talks was formed later instead. Before Sunday’s decision, the cabinet had already met to weigh emergency and governor’s rule, and the ruling parties had finalised a plan to bring KP under federal control.
How the October talks broke down
Naqvi then described the two days of consultations that followed. He credited PTI MNA Asad Qaiser for speaking clearly against any retreat on terrorism. Qaiser, in his account, said the fight would be waged for Pakistan and in unity.
However, the written process went wrong, the minister said. A draft agreement was revised four times during the talks. The government team then found that the opposition had presented a new draft altogether. Naqvi said the chief minister had authorised his negotiators to settle terms one day, but the position changed the next day. The talks collapsed, and counterterrorism policy was one of the main points of deadlock between the two sides.
Dawn’s report of Sunday’s press conference carried the minister’s account in full. The story was still developing when the briefing ended, and the PTI’s detailed response was awaited.
The security backdrop to the Naqvi defends KP emergency briefing
The briefing took place on a day that underlined the security pressures on the province. Hours earlier, security forces foiled an infiltration attempt in Kurram, killing 12 terrorists near the Afghan border. Naib Subedar Hidayat Aman was martyred in that exchange of fire.
The government argues that a province facing such attacks cannot stay outside a joint counterterrorism effort. The PTI has opposed military operations, called for a policy review and said it was left out of security decisions on KP, a claim the Centre denies.
The governor now carries the province’s administration, while the federal government says its aim remains a joint fight against terrorism. The PTI is expected to challenge the move politically, and its formal reply to Naqvi’s account will shape the next round of this dispute.
FAQ
Who addressed the press conference with Mohsin Naqvi?
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry joined the interior minister at Sunday’s briefing in Islamabad.
What did Naqvi say about contacts with the KP government?
Naqvi said he remained personally in touch with the KP side for over a month. He said the Centre’s only goal was to take the province on board for a joint fight against terrorism.
Why did the October 3 talks fail, according to Naqvi?
Naqvi said a draft agreement was revised four times before the opposition presented a new draft. He said the chief minister had authorised his negotiators one day, but the position changed the next day.
On what grounds was the emergency imposed?
The federal cabinet said the provincial government had deliberately disengaged from the fight against terrorism. President Zardari then approved emergency under Article 232 and governor’s rule under Article 234.
