๐ต๐ฐ โA Coup Dissguised as Emergency": Pakistan suspends Imran Khan's party's provincial government
President Asif Ali Zardari declared a state of emergency on Sunday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a northwestern province bordering Afghanistan and the only one governed by Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The order removed its chief minister and cabinet, and a federally appointed governor will run the province for an initial six months. Islamabad accuses the provincial government of failing to confront militant attacks.
The move came a week into a PTI march on Islamabad demanding Khan's release. The army was authorized to deploy across the province, and phone and internet service was cut in the provincial capital, Peshawar, and in Swabi, according to local media.
PTI says ousted Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has been detained. A party spokesperson called the move "a coup disguised as emergency."