Suspended KP CM Sohail Afridi, assembly speaker in preventative custody: police

Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several cabinet members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are currently under preventative custody following the imposition of emergency and governor's rule by the federal government, officials have confirmed. This action was taken on Sunday by the federal government, citing the KP government's "deliberate" inaction on countering terrorism.

The opposition parties have labeled the move as politically motivated. The whereabouts of Afridi were initially unknown to his party members, with the PTI alleging he had been arrested, though there was no official confirmation. Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry confirmed Afridi and some cabinet members were in preventative custody.

Among the detained were assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati. The PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram contended that the arrests were politically motivated, aimed at weakening the PTI, undermining the elected government of KP, and disregarding the democratic will of the people. The federal government has taken further actions, deploying Pakistan Army troops and assets in aid of civil power in KP.

Emergency measures have been authorized, and an 11-member technocratic KP Advisory Council has been formed to assist the Governor, Faisal Karim Kundi. The federal government's move comes amid heightened tensions between the PML-N-led federal government and the KP government over counterterrorism policy, which contributed to the breakdown of their October 3 talks.