GUJRANWALA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday repeated that the federal government was "compelled" to impose emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because the provincial government failed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, Dawn reported.
The prime minister made the remarks while visiting the residence of Rashid Bashir Virk to offer condolences on the death of his father, the late PML-N MNA Mahmood Bashir Virk.
He said a joint government–PPP delegation had made a "last attempt" through talks with the PTI, negotiating "day and night, for 48 hours", and that a draft had been ready under which the party was to call off its long march. According to Dawn, the second round of talks on October 3 ended without a breakthrough.
Shehbaz said he had met Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, whose role is now non-functional, and his predecessor Ali Amin Gandapur several times, promising consultation on administration and resources, but received "threats and long marches every other day in response". He also cited the PTI's 2014 D-Chowk sit-in and its November 2024 protest.
The Centre imposed emergency and governor's rule on October 11, citing the provincial government's "deliberate disengagement" from counterterrorism, and Parliament endorsed the move this week amid opposition protests. The PTI says it has been excluded from security decisions about the province, a charge the Centre denies.
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