After PM Shehbaz Sharif met President Asif Ali Zardari on 10 October, the federal cabinet was called for Sunday 11 October to consider an emergency or governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and separate National Assembly and Senate sessions were set for 13 October. KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, leading the PTI march through Mardan, said he would not accept any “illegal move”.
Pakistan’s federal cabinet was called to meet on Sunday, 11 October 2026, to consider imposing an emergency, governor’s rule or both in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr. Several outlets, citing sources, reported that the government had decided on an emergency, but the official statements did not announce one, and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said no official decision had been taken. Meanwhile the PTI march led by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi reached Mardan on its seventh day and was heading for Swabi. This article reflects reports available by about 9:30am PKT on 11 October 2026; the outcome of the cabinet meeting was not yet known.
On Saturday 10 October Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr to discuss what the official handout called “the overall political and security situation of the country”. The prime minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, among others, according to Geo News.
The President House statement said separate sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate would be held on Tuesday 13 October. It did not announce an emergency. Dawn, citing sources, reported that the PML-N and PPP leaders had finalised a plan to bring KP under federal control using the constitutional provisions on an emergency and governor’s rule, and that the cabinet would approve measures under Articles 232 and 234. Geo News and The News, also citing sources, reported that the federal government had decided to impose an emergency.
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar confirmed to Dawn that the prime minister had called a cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss the options. Asked whether an emergency had been decided, he said: “You can understand the meaning of convening the cabinet meeting on Sunday [a weekly holiday].”
Federal ministers have for days warned that the PTI-led KP government could be removed through an emergency or governor’s rule, citing the security situation in the province and differences over counter-terrorism policy. On 9 October Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Geo News that the Centre had finished deliberating, and that a lack of provincial cooperation on counter-terrorism would lead it to enforce an emergency. Earlier, on 6 October, the President and the PM had agreed to pursue dialogue with the opposition before taking any constitutional or legal steps (see this week’s current affairs).
The march has so far stayed inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI is in power, and its route has changed several times since 4 October. See last week’s article: PTI goes ahead with Islamabad march after talks with the government end in deadlock.
Addressing supporters in Mardan on 10 October, Sohail Afridi said he would not accept any “illegal move”, including governor’s rule or an emergency. Dawn reported him as saying that if governor’s rule were imposed or any “wrong decision” taken, the march would go to Peshawar instead of Swabi and then towards D-Chowk in Islamabad.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, asked by reporters whether an emergency could be avoided, replied: “Is there any room left for an emergency not to be imposed?” Governor Kundi said no official decision had been taken and ruled out further talks with the PTI, Geo News reported.
The federal cabinet was scheduled to meet on 11 October; its decision was not known when this article was published, and we will update it once official statements are issued. Separate National Assembly and Senate sessions are due on 13 October. Reports describe the proposed emergency as needing parliamentary endorsement. On the PTI side, the march was expected to reach Swabi on 12 October, with convoys from other divisions joining on 13 and 14 October, according to PTI leaders quoted by Dawn.
Every fact, date and quotation above is taken from the dated reports listed here. Quotations are reproduced as published by these outlets. Spotted an error? Write to buildskillspk@gmail.com or use the contact page; see also how we check facts.
PTI goes ahead with Islamabad march after talks deadlock (4 October 2026). All weekly articles are listed in the Pakistan weekly news archive. For a broader round-up of each week, with exam MCQs, see Pakistan current affairs (weekly).