PPP backs proposed governor's rule in KP amid PTI-Centre standoff

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari on Wednesday said that his party will give constitutional suggestions if the federal government consults it on governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ministers in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government have repeatedly threatened to impose governor's rule in the violence-hit KP in recent days, citing terrorism and what they describe as "illegal" actions by PTI-backed Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

PTI has also announced holding long march towards Islamabad on October 4, after postponing the protest from its original date of September 27.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar previously said that the Constitution was clear regarding the imposition of an emergency.

Speaking to Geo News, he had said that if circumstances reached a point where the Constitution required an emergency to be imposed in KP, "then it should definitely be imposed and it will be imposed".

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi — a leader of the PPP — later urged the provincial government not to go so far as to create a situation in which governor's rule had to be imposed.

However, he said that if President Asif Ali Zardari issued an order for governor's rule, it would be implemented.

Meanwhile, Bukhari said that KP was facing a "worst" law and order situation, adding that citizens, including those in the KP CM's own district, remained confined to their homes in the evening.

Bukhari also questioned the PTI leadership's absence from the funerals of those martyred in terrorist attacks, asking: "Why does the PTI leadership not attend the funerals of martyrs?"

The PPP leader alleged that the PTI government's priority was not public issues but the release of "one individual" — a reference to the jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated since August 5, 2023.

Bukhari maintained that the PTI would receive relief through the judiciary rather than resistance, saying that the PPP believed in dialogue and had held negotiations even with its "worst opponents".

"National matters can only be resolved through negotiations," Bukhari added.

Bukhari claimed that the PTI was facing internal divisions, with each faction taking a separate position.

He maintained that peaceful protest was the right of every citizen, but an attack on the state was unacceptable.

Bukhari urged the federal government to enforce the law to prevent violent incidents and maintain law and order.

He also said an invitation had been sent to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for the All Parties Conference convened by the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), adding that the decision on participation in the APC would be taken at the meeting of the PPP's central executive committee.