ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Law and Justice Aqeel Malik on Sunday hinted at the imposition of the governor’s rule in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province ruled by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s opposition party, amid deepening political tensions in the country.
Malik’s comments came hours after reports circulating on social media suggested the federal government was considering names for the new governor in KP, where it intends to impose the governor’s rule. The central government has repeatedly criticized the provincial administration for “bad governance” and “failure” to maintain law and order in the northwestern province that borders Afghanistan.
In Pakistan, the federal government can impose the governor’s rule in a province and hand over all administrative powers to the governor, a representative of the federation, in case the provincial administration fails to tackle a “grave emergency.”
Under the governor’s rule, the provincial chief minister and his cabinet lose all administrative powers and virtually stand suspended.
Tensions between the KP government, led by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party, have long existed in the country, but heightened this month after the PTI’s repeated protests against what it calls the government’s denial of a meeting with Khan, who has been in jail since Aug. 2023. Khan’s family and party have alleged he has been kept in solitary confinement and is being denied basic human rights. The government and jail authorities deny this.
