As a matter of course, every constitution and international treaty that confers rights and obligations on the parties presupposes a stable environment for smooth operation. Paradoxically, however, change is the only permanent feature of the world we live in.
Aware of this basic truth, the framers of constitutions and treaties incorporate 'exception' clauses into the legal documents they draw up. Such provisions aim to allow a temporary departure from some guaranteed rights or stipulated obligations if an abnormal situation arises.
The same may apply to the recent presidential proclamation of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Federalism or provincial autonomy is a cardinal principle of the 1973 Constitution.
Executive, financial, and legislative powers are distributed between the federation or the federal government on one hand and the provinces on the other. In the normal course of events, the federal government cannot interfere with constitutionally mandated provincial autonomy, except in a few instances.
Article 148 (1), for example, stipulates that "The executive authority of every province shall be so exercised as to secure compliance with Federal laws which apply in that province." Clause (2) of the same article states: "It shall be the duty of the federation to protect every province against external aggression and internal disturbances and to ensure that the government of every province is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution."
Likewise, Article 149 confers on the federal government the power to issue directions to the provinces to "ensure that executive authority of a province is exercised as not to impede exercise of the executive authority of the federation" and to "prevent any grave menace to the peace or tranquility or economic life of Pakistan" or any part of the country.
It follows that even in normal circumstances, the federal government is constitutionally mandated to protect the people of a province against both external aggression and internal disturbances. Leaving aside the phrase 'external aggression', the phrase 'internal disturbances' hasn't been qualified by an adjective, such as 'material', 'grave', or 'serious'.
This means that if we go by the text of the relevant provisions of the constitution, the federal government's mandate is triggered by any level of internal disturbance in a province. The federal government is mandated not only to ensure that provinces are constitutionally governed but also that they don't deviate from the constitution.
Both these obligations are perpetual and don't need any upheavals to exercise them. Arising from the federal government's dual mandate - protecting the provinces and ensuring constitutional governance therein - is the power to issue directions to the federating units on how they exercise their executive authority.
For their part, the provinces must obey all federal laws. It is understood that compliance with a law includes compliance with the policies and executive orders made under it.
The emergency powers of the president and the federal government primarily emanate from Articles 148 and 149. The constitution provides for three kinds of emergencies: national emergency (under Article 232), constitutional emergency (under Article 234), and financial emergency (under Article 235).
The president has invoked Articles 232 and 234, as the situation in the province has reached a critical juncture requiring federal intervention to restore order and ensure the continuity of constitutional governance.