Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the federal government was left with no option but to impose governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing the situation as a "now or never" stage. Addressing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary party meeting, the prime minister said the federal government could not act as a silent spectator to the opposition's plans of a long march, agitational politics, and armed sit-ins.
He said the decision to enforce emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was taken after consultations and the breakdown of dialogue with the opposition. He stated that it was decided at the federal cabinet meeting after two and a half hours of consultations involving government allies that there could be no more wait.
"We were compelled by the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to impose emergency and governor's rule in the province," he said. He noted that a single-party government wanted to disrupt the journey of progress made over the last two and a half years, and instead of supporting the Pakistan Army and law enforcement, they were bent upon crossing limits in speaking against state institutions while not uttering a single word against terrorists.
The prime minister said negotiations had nearly reached an agreement, but the process was derailed. The situation was deliberately spoiled, possibly under instructions to repeat the events of 9 May, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) delegation had eventually said it needed to consult the provincial government.
"The negotiating team of PTI had instructions to foil dialogue to repeat the 9 May event or even go beyond that," he said. He added that the security situation in the province had deteriorated significantly in recent months, noting that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had always made sacrifices for Pakistan's prosperity.
He claimed that terrorism had been eliminated from the country by 2018, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleging that terrorists had been brought into the province during the PTI-led government and were given a free hand. Shehbaz said the federal government had made every effort over the past two and a half years to improve matters in the province, while assurances of cooperation had also been extended to former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and meetings had been held with provincial leadership, emphasizing that the elimination of terrorism was a joint responsibility.
He alleged that the provincial government had tried to obstruct the country's development and promoted sit-ins and abusive language instead of strengthening the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He also criticised the party founded by Imran Khan for not speaking out against terrorists.
Separately, talking to a delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), led by its convener and Federal Minister for Education Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the prime minister said the decision to impose emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was taken in the better interest of the people after the provincial government failed to address the menace of terrorism.
A parliamentary delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Zia) also separately called on the prime minister at the PM House. "We made every possible effort to avoid such an extreme step," the prime minister concluded.