Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has moved the Federal Constitutional Court against the imposition of governor's rule and a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, asking the court to review an order that halted proceedings in the Peshawar High Court.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan filed the petition on Thursday, 12 November 2026. It seeks a review of the order issued by the Federal Constitutional Court on 5 November on applications filed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The petition asks that Barrister Gohar and the other petitioners be made parties to the case and given an opportunity to present their position. It argues that the 5 November order affected proceedings on constitutional petitions pending before the Peshawar High Court.

It also seeks the release of the province's chief minister and speaker through the proceedings challenging the emergency and governor's rule, and asks the court to protect citizens' fundamental rights and ensure access to justice.

How the legal fight reached the new court

The emergency and governor's rule were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October 2026, when President Asif Ali Zardari approved the prime minister's advice under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, citing a deterioration in security and what the federal government described as the provincial administration's failure to cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts.

PTI challenged the measures in the Peshawar High Court, but the legal battle ran into difficulty early this month. On 5 November, the Federal Constitutional Court barred the Peshawar High Court from hearing cases about arrests under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance, and a day later it stripped the high court of jurisdiction over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cases filed after 12 October.

On 7 November, the Peshawar High Court removed all petitions challenging the emergency and governor's rule from its cause list and told petitioners, including Barrister Gohar, opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai and the provincial bar council, to approach another forum.

Lawyers across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa went on strike on 10 November in protest against the constitutional court's order, and the provincial bar council said it would seek to become a party to the case before the Federal Constitutional Court.

Barrister Gohar had announced on 9 November that PTI would approach the Federal Constitutional Court to seek withdrawal of the stay order, saying the ruling had created complications for ordinary citizens as well as political figures, after the Peshawar High Court delisted cases that had been scheduled for hearing on 10 November.

New court takes shape as petition lands

The petition arrives as the new Federal Constitutional Court takes shape. Justice Aminuddin Khan was sworn in on Friday as the court's first chief justice, with President Zardari administering the oath at a ceremony in Islamabad attended by the prime minister and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The court was created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which was signed into law on Thursday. Two Supreme Court judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, resigned hours after the amendment was enacted, saying judicial independence had been undermined.

The amendment transfers constitutional matters to the new court, while regular courts continue to hear other cases. The PTI petition is among the first major political cases to be placed before it.

The province has been under federal administration since 11 October, its assembly dissolved and its chief minister, Sohail Afridi, and speaker, Babar Saleem Swati, in protective custody. The petition now asks the constitutional court to examine whether the 5 November order, and the emergency and governor's rule behind it, can stand.