Pakistan Detains PTI Leaders in Khan Province Emergency — SkimNews
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- President Asif Ali Zardari declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, suspending the provincial government led by Imran Khan's PTI party and handing control to the provincial governor.
- Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and some of his cabinet members were taken into preventive custody at his residence in Peshawar, with federal minister Talal Chaudhry confirming those facing criminal cases would be charged and tried while others would be released.
- The federal government justified the takeover as a response to the provincial administration's failure to contain a worsening Islamist militant insurgency, though PTI rejected that explanation and called it a move to block a march on Islamabad demanding Khan's release from jail.
- Talks between the government and PTI collapsed after PTI refused a government request to publicly condemn militancy and support efforts against militants, according to Chaudhry.
- Khan's three sisters and hundreds of his supporters were detained ahead of the planned march, prompting authorities to close all educational institutions in Peshawar and cancel Monday exams.
- Islamabad was placed on high alert with thousands of police on standby and shipping containers deployed to seal off the government district housing the prime minister's office and foreign diplomatic missions.
Why it matters: This is a direct federal takeover of an elected provincial government, with the chief minister and cabinet in custody, deepening the confrontation between Khan and the military establishment. The collapse of talks over PTI's refusal to publicly condemn militancy shows the standoff is now constitutional, not just political — and with Khan still jailed, his provincial power base in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is being dismantled piece by piece.
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