Islamabad: The Governor House in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was set on fire amid escalating political tensions and a deteriorating security situation in the region following the Federal government’s imposition of a state of emergency in the province, according to reports.
In videos circulating on social media, the Governor House was seen engulfed in flames, while other footage showed police firing and shelling in cities across the province.
The incident comes as Pakistan faces mounting unrest in KP, with the arson incident raising concerns over the worsening law-and-order situation in the province.
However, further details about the circumstances surrounding the fire, the extent of the damage and any casualties were not immediately available.
Sunday, a large number of people in KP took to the streets and staged a protest following the imposition of emergency, which suspends the provincial government led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, media reports said.
PTI’s planned march to Islamabad was disrupted Sunday amid a sweeping security crackdown in KP, where the federal government’s imposition of an emergency and governor’s rule effectively eroded the party’s provincial power base, Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.
The crackdown saw police arrest 59 PTI workers in Swabi and six in Khyber district. Reports also indicated that ousted Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar had been taken into custody.
Security personnel were deployed at major intersections and highways across the province, while mobile phone and PTCL internet services were suspended in Swabi. The measures came as the federal government moved to take control of the provincial administration.
In a separate development, former chief minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur said he had been placed under house arrest at his residence in Dera Ismail Khan.
Opposition parties Sunday strongly opposed the federal government’s decision to impose governor’s rule in KP, terming the move an assault on democracy and pledging to challenge it through legal and public platforms.
In a statement, the PTI warned that the decision had set a “dangerous precedent”, describing it as political victimisation intended to weaken the province’s elected leadership, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
It called for the immediate release of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and demanded that the federal government disclose the legal justification, specific charges and procedures underlying their arrests.
The Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) also vowed to contest the imposition of governor’s rule in courts, assemblies and public forums, asserting that the PTI’s planned protest march would go ahead as announced.
