Amnesty warns of rights abuses under Pakistan emergency rule (Img: IANS)
Islamabad: International human rights organisation Amnesty International has expressed serious concern over reports of arbitrary detentions of political leaders and internet disruptions in Pakistan’s northwestern province. It has questioned the emergency measures imposed by the federal government are proportionate to the situation.
The concerns followed the federal government’s declaration of a state of emergency on Sunday and the imposition of governor’s rule, which suspended the provincial government led by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and detention of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. The former prime minister remains in jail.
Condemning the emergency declaration and the deployment of armed forces in the province, Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for South Asia, said: “Reports of arbitrary detentions of key leaders – including the provincial chief minister – and internet disruptions across the province raise concerns about the proportionality of these emergency measures.”
“While states may, in strictly limited circumstances, derogate from their human rights obligations to respond to a public emergency that threatens the existence of the nation, emergency measures are not a blank cheque to crack down on human rights, silence dissent, or concentrate power,” he noted.
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Pant warned that deploying the army could further militarise Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and increase the risk of unlawful use of force. He pointed to the armed forces’ history of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions during counterterrorism operations.
Opposition parties had strongly opposed the imposition of governor’s rule (Img: X)
He urged Pakistani authorities not to use military personnel for routine policing and stressed that the armed forces must remain accountable and comply with international human rights law and standards.
“At this critical juncture, the federal authorities must ensure independent oversight of all actions taken under the emergency framework, and guarantee that any emergency measure is strictly necessary and proportionate to the situation,” Pant stated.
Local media reported on Monday that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several members of his cabinet had been detained following the suspension of the provincial government under emergency rule.
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Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the media that the leaders would face charges and trial in connection with the legal cases pending against them.
Meanwhile, tensions escalated after the Governor House in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was set on fire. Videos circulating on social media showed the building engulfed in flames, while other footage purportedly showed police firing and shelling in cities across the province.
Opposition parties had strongly opposed the imposition of governor’s rule on Sunday, describing the decision as an attack on democracy and vowing to challenge it through legal and public platforms.
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In a statement, the PTI warned that the decision had set a "dangerous precedent", alleging that it was an act of political victimisation aimed at weakening the province’s elected leadership, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
