The federal government said on 12 October that politicians from Imran Khan’s PTI were detained after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was suspended (Reuters via the Straits Times). Police put the number of detained party members in the hundreds (CNA, Straits Times, Le Monde). They followed the emergency under Article 232 and governor’s rule under Article 234 approved on 11 October. Business Recorder reported that the deployment of the army in KP was notified and that an 11-member advisory council was named; ARY News reported schools closed on Monday; Dawn reported intercity transport suspended in Lahore and Section 144 in Karachi until 20 October. PTI says Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was taken into custody on Sunday; DailyDrop found no official statement naming him.
An elected provincial government has been replaced by the governor’s administration and, according to the notification Business Recorder reported, the army. Parliament and the courts have not yet ruled on the proclamation, so the legal footing is untested. Large detentions and closures also raise the risk of clashes.
If you live in or travel through KP, expect containers, checkpoints and possible mobile-internet disruption. In Karachi, avoid gatherings of more than five people until 20 October. Lahore’s intercity bus services were reported suspended; check before travelling.
The Centre says the PTI government deliberately disengaged from the fight against terrorism and that the Constitution allows an emergency and governor’s rule in that case.
PTI says the step overrides an elected mandate and is a coup; it vows to fight it in court and on the street.
Two facts will settle this: whether Parliament endorses the proclamation and whether a court agrees to hear PTI’s challenge. Watch also whether the officials name Mr Afridi and how many of the hundreds detained are released or charged. Until then the numbers come only from police and ministers.
Straits Times (Reuters), CNA, Le Monde, Dawn, ARY News, Business Recorder, Economic Times, Express Tribune, Guardian, Pakistan Observer (12 Oct 2026)
Hundreds of PTI members detained as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stays under emergency; army deployment notifiedHundreds of PTI members detained as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stays under emergency; army deployment notified
The Centre said on Monday that PTI politicians were detained after the provincial government was suspended; police put the number in the hundreds. Schools were shut and transport was suspended in Lahore.
Politicians from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were detained after the suspension of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government, the federal government said on Monday 12 October, in a Reuters report carried by the Straits Times. Police said hundreds of party members had been held, according to CNA and the Straits Times, and Le Monde, which described a further step in the crackdown on the movement demanding Mr Khan’s release, also spoke of arrests by the hundreds. The Straits Times added that thousands of his supporters have been marching in the province and airing grievances over harsh economic conditions. The detentions followed the emergency under Article 232 and governor’s rule under Article 234 that President Asif Ali Zardari approved on Sunday. The Centre says the PTI government had disengaged from the fight against terrorism; PTI calls the step a coup, the Guardian reported. Business Recorder reported that PTI and its allies in the TTAP alliance vowed to fight the decision, that an 11-member advisory council had been named and that the deployment of the army in KP had been notified; the Economic Times headlined that the army is eyeing a bigger role in the province. The law minister said on Sunday that the governor would now lead the administration, and ARY News quoted Governor Faisal Karim Kundi saying the province backs the emergency to restore peace.
Daily life was affected beyond Peshawar. ARY News reported late on Sunday that educational institutions would stay closed on Monday over security concerns, and Dawn reported that intercity transport was suspended in Lahore with bus terminals sealed, in what it called a bid to curtail PTI workers’ mobility. In Karachi, the commissioner’s Section 144 order, imposed on Sunday, bans gatherings of more than five people until 20 October, Dawn reported. Dawn also asked where Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was: PTI says he was taken into custody on Sunday, but the official statements DailyDrop found speak of detained politicians without naming him, so his arrest stays unconfirmed. The crisis grew out of PTI’s long march towards Islamabad, which began on 4 October to demand Mr Khan’s release. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar alleged a nexus between the PTI government and terrorists, a claim that has not been tested in court, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said PTI had not answered the Centre’s counterterrorism efforts (Dawn, Pakistan Observer). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed there would be no more silence on terrorism, the Express Tribune reported. Under the Constitution the proclamation must be laid before Parliament within a fixed period and courts can review it, and PTI has said it will challenge it in court; DailyDrop saw no report of a parliamentary vote or a court hearing in the sources it checked.