Govt says month-long efforts to engage K-P administration preceded emergency

Federal ministers revealed on Sunday that the government had spent a month attempting to engage the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) administration before declaring emergency rule. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi detailed these efforts, explaining they continued despite opposition from the K-P government and the opposition party. President Asif Ali Zardari endorsed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's recommendation following a deteriorating security situation and the provincial administration's disengagement.

Naqvi emphasized that the decision came after multiple attempts to establish contact and negotiate with the K-P government over the preceding month. Despite repeated outreach, including meetings with K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, proposals were met with resistance. Naqvi noted that the security situation had worsened, with 518 police personnel killed in the past 18 months, and terrorist incidents had surged by 196% over two to two-and-a-half years.

The government formed an advisory committee and a secretariat to manage security in 12 districts, with the governor tasked to enforce the new measures under the Constitution.