Police and security personnel patrolled the streets of Bara Bazaar in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber district on Wednesday (October 14), a day after violent clashes over the imposition of emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa left markets shut and daily life suspended.
The federal government suspended the local government led by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, accusing it of failing to tackle militancy, and imposed a state of emergency and governor’s rule on Sunday (October 11).
Five people were injured in clashes on Tuesday (October 13), PTI officials said, a claim rejected by the provincial administration. The most serious clashes occurred in Bara, about 15 km (9 miles) from the provincial capital, Peshawar.
PTI information secretary Ikram Khatana said unidentified people set fire to a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) centre in Bara and stormed nearby offices.
Samar Haroon Bilour, who handles information for the provincial administration, described allegations of police live firing as “baseless and frivolous”, saying they had been spread by anonymous social media accounts using AI-generated footage. She said police had responded to rioting and vandalism in a calibrated manner, with about 50 people arrested and four cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Residents said shops, markets and daily activities remained suspended in Bara on Wednesday, with traders returning to assess damage and streets largely empty.
“We were told to shut our shops, and when we came back everything had been destroyed,” said local shop owner Karamat Khan, adding that printers, documents and motorcycles belonging to friends had been damaged or set on fire.
The emergency measures have drawn criticism from human rights organisations. The International Human Rights Foundation on Tuesday condemned the imposition of emergency rule, describing it as a “military-backed power grab” and demanding the restoration of democratic rights.
In a post on X, the foundation cited the presence of the military, the detention of former chief minister Sohail Afridi and the internet blockade. It called for Afridi and other detained leaders to be released, saying rights could not be suspended by decree.
Amnesty International also raised concerns over the emergency and governor’s rule, warning that the measures could undermine fundamental rights, suppress dissent and expand the military’s role in the province.
Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s deputy director for South Asia, said reports of arbitrary detentions of political leaders, including the provincial chief minister, and internet disruptions had raised questions about the necessity and proportionality of the measures.
“Emergency measures are not a blank cheque to crack down on human rights, silence dissent, or concentrate power,” Pant said, adding that any suspension of human rights obligations must remain within the limited circumstances permitted under international law.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the federal cabinet’s recommendations on October 11 to impose a state of emergency under Article 232 and governor’s rule under Article 234 of Pakistan’s Constitution. The government cited an “unprecedented level of violent intensity of terrorist attacks” and a “breakdown of constitutional machinery” in the province.
The emergency provisions allow Pakistan’s federal legislature to enact laws concerning the province and permit restrictions on fundamental rights, including freedom of assembly, association and expression. Under the presidential notification, the federal parliament will exercise the provincial assembly’s powers, while the chief minister and provincial cabinet members, including ministers, advisers and special assistants, will cease to hold office.
Police also launched raids across Swabi district on Sunday to arrest PTI workers and prevent a major rally scheduled to be addressed by former chief minister Sohail Afridi in the Shewa Adda area of Razaar tehsil. The security crackdown and heightened police vigilance began after the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the province.