Islamabad: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday approved the declaration of a state of emergency in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, following a recommendation from Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
In a statement, the Pakistani Presidency said Zardari had approved the emergency declaration following recommendations from the federal cabinet, a formal proposal from the prime minister, comprehensive reports from the relevant security institutions on the security situation and public order, and the breakdown of negotiations between the government delegation and the provincial leadership over the escalating security crisis.
Zardari had signed the recommendation in response to the security situation in the province and what it described as the provincial government's failure to address the ongoing armed attacks, the statement continued.
During its meeting, the federal cabinet proposed that the prime minister recommend invoking the constitutional powers stipulated in Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution to declare a state of emergency in the province.
Earlier, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the federal cabinet to review the deteriorating security situation and the escalating armed attacks in the northwestern province.
The cabinet received a comprehensive briefing on the security crisis and conducted a detailed review of the situation amid the worsening security environment.
Sharif stressed that the federal government would neither stand idly by nor remain a silent spectator. He also expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in parts of the province, particularly as local residents continue to bear the brunt of armed attacks.
