An advisory council meeting has been called at the Governor’s House in Peshawar for 4pm on Sunday. The gathering is meant to examine the situation that followed the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to sources at the Governor House, council members had begun arriving, and seven to eight people were expected to sit on the council in its first phase. The discussion will cover the current situation and the path ahead, and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi is due to brief reporters on key decisions once the session ends, the sources added.
Federal emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The federal government formally imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in the province on Sunday, after President Asif Ali Zardari approved a summary forwarded by the federal cabinet. The grounds cited were a deteriorating security situation and the provincial government’s alleged failure to tackle terrorism.
The president approved the emergency under Articles 232(1) and 234(1) of the Constitution. Under the proclamation, the governor has taken over provincial government functions as directed by the federal government, effectively placing the province under governor’s rule.
The proclamation allows the governor to assume all or only some of the provincial government’s functions, as the federal government directs. It also states that the powers of the provincial assembly may be exercised by Parliament or under its authority.
Kundi’s message on the fight against terrorism
In a video message to the people of the province, Kundi said citizens had decided to stop supporting what he called “Fitna al-Khawarij”. He said residents would stand alongside security forces in the fight against terrorism until the end.
Kundi also said the people of the province welcomed the president’s move to impose an emergency, which he said was aimed at peace, stability, development and prosperity.
