PM Shehbaz Meets President Zardari as Centre Weighs Emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday to discuss the country’s security and political situation, as the federal government considers imposing an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

According to a statement from the President House, the two sides agreed to convene separate sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate on Tuesday, October 13.

Who attended the meeting

The prime minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was represented by Sherry Rehman and Syed Naveed Qamar, the statement said.

Centre and KP government at odds

The meeting comes amid tensions between the PML-N-led federal government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led KP government. The PTI sits in opposition at the federal level. The two sides have clashed over several issues, most notably counterterrorism policy, which was also a key reason talks between them broke down on October 3.

The PTI says it is being excluded from security decisions concerning KP, a claim the Centre denies. The party has also called for a review of the counterterrorism policy. The federal government, for its part, has criticised the KP administration’s efforts against terrorism and objected to its position on dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.

In recent days, federal ministers have criticised the PTI for holding a protest long march, which the party had been warned against, at a time when KP faces security challenges. They have also linked the policy differences to the possibility of an emergency or governor’s rule in the province.

Information minister alleges lack of governance

Earlier on Saturday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused the KP government of poor governance. He alleged that the provincial administration received Rs700 billion under the National Finance Commission for development projects.

Tarar alleged that the Counter Terrorism Department had not been upgraded, forensic labs had not been set up, and safe city cameras had not been installed in the merged districts and at entry and exit points of KP’s districts. He claimed the PTI was instead spending the money on organising protests.

Interior minister calls emergency a “last resort”

Speaking to Geo News, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said consultations on the possible emergency were continuing. He said the step required comprehensive consultation and that the government, as a democratic one, was not in favour of it.

“This is a last resort,” Chaudhry said, adding that talks and backdoor discussions had already been tried. He said multiple options were being examined at different levels, but questioned what other avenues remained, citing what he described as the PTI’s failure to cooperate with the federal government against terrorism and its criticism of national policy during the long march. “It looks like things are headed towards the last option,” he said.

He maintained that ties with the PTI remained in place, as the party is the opposition in parliament and governs KP. Chaudhry said that during the second round of talks, the interior minister had told the prime minister that the KP government was ready to cooperate on terrorism. According to Chaudhry, the prime minister had said KP should be given whatever it needed politically, but that it must stand with the federal government and the security forces.

He added that the federal government had given the PTI space and relevance, even at the expense of the PML-N’s own political goals, and that the government’s focus was on the state and on maintaining peace.

Fazl enters the picture

Separately, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was set to meet the prime minister in Islamabad after the two spoke by phone about easing tensions between the Centre and the KP government.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Shehbaz congratulated Fazl on performing Umrah and invited him for talks at the Prime Minister House. A JUI-F statement later confirmed that Fazl had left for the meeting to discuss the country’s political situation. JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said Fazl had taken the PTI leadership into confidence beforehand.

Recent contacts with the opposition

The call follows a series of recent engagements. On Tuesday, leaders of the TTAP called on Fazl, after which he advised the federal government not to obstruct the PTI long march towards Islamabad, saying protest is a democratic right of all parties.

The next day, Rana Sanaullah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq met the JUI-F chief.

On Thursday, PTI MNA Junaid Akbar confirmed that Fazl had offered to help end the deadlock and said the PTI’s doors were open. Akbar told Geo News that Fazl had not presented any framework for his role.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also hinted at efforts to restart talks between the government and the opposition. He said he hoped for a positive outcome but had little hope.

JUI-F describes role as facilitator

Ghauri told Dawn that Fazl was acting as a “facilitator, not a mediator”. He explained that a mediator would hold authority from opposition parties to decide on their behalf in light of their demands.

He said the party’s priority was to bring both sides back to the table and that it had urged the government to call a multi-party conference at Parliament House to discuss political and security issues. According to Ghauri, resuming dialogue would benefit both sides, though mostly the PTI, because the KP government was “virtually being run by someone else and not by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi”.