The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has renewed its call for emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be lifted. In a statement issued on Sunday, 25 October 2026, the commission also demanded the immediate release of the province's chief executive and others it describes as arbitrarily detained, and the restoration of the provincial assembly.

What the commission asked for

The commission said its concerns have not changed since it first warned against the measures: shrinking democratic space, voters in the province being denied representation, preventive detention, and security steps that fall heavily on civilians. It pointed to reports of police action against party workers in Peshawar, Swat and Khyber, and to a reported baton charge on a gathering in Bara, while noting that such reports still need fuller verification. It also said mobile and internet services had returned after earlier disruption, but the full effect of that disruption remained unclear.

Why Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is central to the dispute

The dispute dates to 12 October, when the federal government suspended the provincial government and placed the province under emergency and governor's rule. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, National Assembly member Junaid Akbar and provincial assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati were taken into what was described as preventive custody, along with other cabinet members. The commission stressed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the country's only opposition-led province, which, in its view, makes the intervention especially troubling. It urged the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to return to broad political dialogue, involving civil society, on militancy, fundamental rights and local control of resources, warning that rule by emergency rather than consensus could seriously weaken democracy.

Source: IANS