Parliament Sessions Called to Approve KP Emergency as Islamabad Goes on High Alert and PTI Vows Court Challenge

ISLAMABAD: The question of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa now moves to Parliament — sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate have been called for October 13, where both houses will vote on ratifying the measures. Because the president acted without a resolution from the provincial assembly, the Constitution requires both houses to approve the emergency within ten days, by October 21, failing which the proclamation lapses. It must also be placed before a joint sitting of Parliament within thirty days.

Ahead of the sessions, the federal capital has been placed on high alert. Security has been tightened in and around the Red Zone and at entry points, with police contingents drawn from Islamabad, Sindh and Punjab, while major hospitals — including PIMS and Polyclinic — have also been put on alert. Surveillance through Safe City cameras is under way, and key installations including the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s House, Parliament House and the Supreme Court have been assigned to special security units.

The legal and parliamentary battle

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has announced it will challenge the decision in the courts, the assemblies and public forums. Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has said the long march has not formally been called off and that the struggle will continue. Legal experts note that governor’s rule carries a hard ceiling — Parliament may extend it in two-month increments up to a maximum of six months — whereas an approved emergency has no fixed end date.

With protests and arrests continuing in Peshawar and other cities of the province, all eyes are now on tomorrow’s parliamentary sessions, where the numbers in both houses will decide the fate of the proclamation.