ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government will take all possible measures to maintain peace and development in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the governor’s office said on Saturday, amid speculation that the center may impose governor’s rule or an emergency in the province to curtail an opposition protest march headed toward Islamabad.

The statement comes in the backdrop of Pakistani federal officials discussing in recent days the possibility of imposing governor’s rule or emergency measures in KP. This could allow Islamabad to assume certain functions of the provincial administration.

The development takes place as KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, a close aide of former prime minister Imran Khan and a senior leader of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, leads thousands of PTI supporters in a protest march toward the capital. The PTI says its march is intended to put pressure on the government to release the jailed former prime minister. The party has also accused the federal government of restricting Khan’s access to his lawyers and family members, charges that the government denies.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi met Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam in Peshawar, the governor’s office said in a statement. The two discussed the protest march, overall law and order situation in the province, and other political matters.

“The federal government will take all possible measures to maintain peace and promote public development in the province,” a joint statement issued by the governor’s office said.

It added that people in KP had grown weary of “terrorism” and the political group allegedly backing and promoting chaos.

Pakistan’s federal government has accused the Afridi-led provincial administration in KP of turning a blind eye to rising militancy. The PTI rejects these allegations and urges the center to develop a counterterrorism policy through consensus, rather than simply imposing one.

’LONG MARCH’ TO ISLAMABAD

Afridi embarked on the “long march” to Islamabad from the northwestern Lakki Marwat district on Sunday. The march began after two rounds of negotiations between the government and the PTI failed to achieve a breakthrough.

The KP chief minister is currently in the Charsadda district with thousands of Khan supporters. In a social media post on Friday, he urged all party supporters and parliamentarians to reach Swabi district on Oct. 14. The protest march has moved slowly through KP since it began on Sunday, with its route repeatedly revised.

“Insha’Allah, on October 14, we will advance from Swabi onward,” Afridi said.

The PTI has long accused the government of keeping Khan in prison over convictions secured in politically motivated cases, charges the government rejects.

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 until his removal through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022. He has been imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s central jail since August 2023. He faces multiple criminal cases and is serving a prison sentence in a corruption case that he says is politically motivated.

His detention has fueled repeated protests and confrontations with the authorities. A major PTI march on Islamabad in November 2024 ended in clashes between demonstrators and security forces, with both sides disputing the circumstances and scale of the casualties.