Pakistan’s federal government has imposed a state of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a decision taken on October 11, 2026. The move has renewed attention on how often successive governments have used such extraordinary powers during political confrontations, constitutional disputes and tensions between the centre and the provinces.
Under the proclamation, President Asif Ali Zardari acted on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The emergency was declared under Article 232 of the Constitution and governor’s rule under Article 234. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, his provincial cabinet and advisers ceased to hold office, while Governor Faisal Karim Kundi took charge of provincial administration with the help of an 11-member advisory council.
Early provincial dismissals in Punjab and Sindh
The first instance of governor’s rule in Pakistan came in West Punjab on January 25, 1949, less than 18 months after independence. Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan dismissed the government of Chief Minister Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot after questioning his claim to a majority in the provincial assembly. The assembly was dissolved and the province was placed under direct federal control.
The episode was linked to a power struggle within the Muslim League, particularly the rivalry between Mamdot and former chief minister Mumtaz Daultana. Governor’s rule in the province continued until April 1951. Sindh followed on December 29, 1951, when Liaquat Ali Khan dismissed Chief Minister Muhammad Ayub Khuhro amid allegations of corruption and maladministration.
Governor Mian Aminuddin then administered Sindh until May 1953, when provincial elections brought Pirzada Abdus Sattar to power.
National emergencies in 1954 and 1971
On October 24, 1954, Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad dissolved Pakistan’s First Constituent Assembly. The move came amid a wider constitutional struggle over the distribution of power between East Bengal and West Pakistan, proposals for the One Unit scheme and attempts to curtail the governor-general’s powers.
Assembly president Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan challenged the dissolution. The Sindh High Court initially ruled in his favour, but the Federal Court overturned that decision in 1955 and validated the governor-general’s action under the doctrine of necessity. The account stresses that this was a national intervention, not governor’s rule in a single province.
President Yahya Khan issued a nationwide proclamation of emergency on November 23, 1971, as the conflict escalated toward the separation of East Pakistan. The 1973 Constitution provided for its continuation under Article 280, and a joint sitting of Parliament approved the proclamation and its continuation on September 5, 1973.
Provincial interventions in the 1970s and 1990s
On February 13, 1973, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s federal government dismissed the Balochistan government led by Chief Minister Sardar Ataullah Mengal and removed Governor Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo. The government cited unrest and the discovery of weapons at the Iraqi embassy in Islamabad. Governor’s rule ended on April 27, 1973, when Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan formed a new provincial government.
In February 1975, following the assassination of senior minister Hayat Muhammad Khan Sherpao in a bomb blast at the University of Peshawar, the federal government imposed emergency measures in the former North-West Frontier Province, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The intervention removed Chief Minister Sardar Inayatullah Khan Gandapur’s government, banned the National Awami Party and led to the arrest of opposition figures. The measures ended on May 3, 1975.
Balochistan came under governor’s rule again on December 31, 1975, when Bhutto’s government dismissed Chief Minister Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan amid tribal unrest, insurgency and allegations of administrative failure. That arrangement lasted until December 6, 1976.
In August 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s government, dissolved the National Assembly and declared a nationwide emergency. The emergency was lifted in November 1990, when Nawaz Sharif took office as prime minister. In February 1994, Benazir Bhutto’s government imposed governor’s rule in the former NWFP, which ended in April when Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao became chief minister.
In Sindh, the federal government imposed governor’s rule on October 30, 1998, under Nawaz Sharif. The intervention followed deteriorating law and order in Karachi, political confrontation involving the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the assassination of former governor Hakim Muhammad Saeed. Governor Moinuddin Haider assumed the powers of the provincial government on behalf of the federation, and the order was issued while a state of emergency was already in force.
Emergency and governor’s rule from 2007 to 2013
On November 3, 2007, President Pervez Musharraf imposed a nationwide emergency, citing terrorism and what he described as judicial interference in government. The Constitution was held in abeyance, judges were required to take a fresh oath, and lawyers and opposition figures were detained. The emergency ended on December 15, 2007, and in 2009 the Supreme Court declared the emergency and associated measures unconstitutional.
In February 2009, President Asif Ali Zardari imposed governor’s rule in Punjab after the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif. Salman Taseer was appointed governor and Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet were barred from office, although the provincial assembly was not dissolved. The arrangement ended in March 2009, allowing the PML-N government to return to power.
In Balochistan, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf announced governor’s rule on January 13, 2013, after protests over deadly bombings in Quetta that killed more than 90 people. Zardari formally approved the order the next day, dismissing Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani’s government and authorising Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi to assume executive powers. Governor’s rule ended in March 2013.
The review of these episodes shows how federal authorities have repeatedly turned to exceptional measures in response to provincial crises, testing the balance between federal authority and provincial autonomy each time.
