ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed Pakistan’s political and security situation on Saturday and agreed to convene separate parliamentary sessions next week, as the federal government weighed emergency measures in the opposition-ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province amid a protest march toward Islamabad.

The meeting came as federal ministers signaled that constitutional intervention in the northwestern province was under consideration following the collapse of negotiations earlier this month with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party over political demands and differences on counterterrorism policy.

“They exchanged views on the country’s overall political and security situation,” the presidency said in a statement released after the meeting.

“It was agreed at the meeting to convene separate sessions of the National Assembly and Senate on Tuesday, October 13,” it added.

The federal cabinet is scheduled to meet at the Prime Minister’s House on Sunday morning, though no agenda has yet been announced.

The developments come amid mounting speculation that the government could invoke constitutional provisions allowing federal intervention in KP, Pakistan’s only province governed by Khan’s PTI, which is leading a protest march demanding his release from prison.

Under Article 234 of Pakistan’s Constitution, the president may assume certain functions of a provincial government, or direct the provincial governor to exercise them, if the province can no longer be governed in accordance with the Constitution.

The provision also allows the National Assembly and Senate, through separate resolutions, to require the president to issue such a proclamation. Any proclamation must subsequently be submitted to a joint sitting of parliament for approval.

The presidency did not say whether the parliamentary sessions scheduled for next week would consider emergency measures.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told Geo News on Saturday that consultations over the situation in KP were continuing and that imposing an emergency was not the government’s preferred course of action.

However, he said developments appeared to be moving toward a last resort, suggesting constitutional options might have to be exercised if no alternative remained.

Chaudhry accused the PTI-led provincial government of failing to implement Pakistan’s National Action Plan to curb militant violence and said the federal government’s priority was protecting the country’s national interests.

The developments follow a week of escalating tensions between the federal government and PTI, whose chief minister in KP, Sohail Afridi, is leading thousands of Khan supporters in a protest march through the province.

The march began in Lakki Marwat district last Sunday after two rounds of negotiations between the government and PTI collapsed. The opposition says it is seeking Khan’s release and an end to restrictions on his access to lawyers and family members.

The government has denied improperly restricting access to Khan and says the provincial administration has failed to cooperate adequately with federal counterterrorism efforts.

PTI has opposed large-scale military operations that it says risk civilian casualties and displacement, arguing that counterterrorism measures should be developed in consultation with provincial political representatives and local communities.

The federal government, meanwhile, has accused the provincial administration of obstructing efforts to confront rising militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan and has experienced repeated attacks on security personnel and civilians.

PTI has rejected the prospect of federal intervention. Party chairman Barrister Gohar said on Saturday that imposing governor’s rule or an emergency would not resolve KP’s problems and accused Islamabad of targeting the province because it was governed by the opposition.

Afridi’s protest convoy has moved through several districts since last Sunday, with the chief minister calling on supporters on Friday to gather in Swabi ahead of a planned advance toward Islamabad on October 14.

The march has heightened tensions around Islamabad, where authorities have imposed restrictions on public gatherings and warned that violations will face legal action.

Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 until his removal in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022, has been imprisoned since August 2023. He is serving a sentence in a corruption case that he says is politically motivated, an allegation the government rejects.

His detention has fueled repeated confrontations between PTI and the authorities, including a major protest in Islamabad in November 2024 that ended in clashes between demonstrators and security forces.