Governor’s rule, emergency PHC seeks response of federal govt

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued notices to the federal government, the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), the advocate general and other relevant authorities on petitions challenging the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Faheem Wali, heard separate the petitions filed by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Advocate Salman Khan.

The petitioners have requested the court to declare the measures unconstitutional and strike them down.

During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel Barrister Sameer Khosa argued that the measures were unconstitutional and had been imposed without fulfilling the legal requirements.

He said the provincial government had not lost control of the province and that the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule amounted to an attack on provincial autonomy and democracy.

Khosa said that emergency could only be imposed in case of a war or external aggression. “The fact of the matter is that in this case neither is a war nor external aggression.”

He said that the provincial government had the powers to take steps against terrorism.

“Previously, terrorism was at its peak. But even then, an emergency was not imposed in the province,” he said, and added that Article 234 could only be invoked when the government had stopped functioning.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026