Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that a last-minute withdrawal by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government from an agreed draft, reached after 48 hours of negotiations, left the federal government no choice but to impose emergency and governor’s rule in the province. Speaking in Gujranwala, the premier laid out the government’s reasoning.
Committee talks and the draft that fell apart
Sharif said a committee of ruling coalition members held extensive talks with the opposition, and the two sides prepared a mutually agreed draft aimed at averting a long march and sit-in. The situation shifted, he said, when the other side asked for time to obtain the chief minister’s approval, even though the chief minister had not attended the meeting.
Federal government cites risk of violence and disruption
“We had no other option,” Shehbaz said, insisting the federal government could not stand by passively as the country faced the prospect of violence and disruption.
