US expects Pakistan to follow law in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Washington: The US State Department has said it expects Pakistani authorities to act within the law as they enforce emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, its first public comment on Islamabad’s takeover of the province run by Imran Khan’s party.

“We expect that local authorities will act in accordance with Pakistani law as they seek to maintain order,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email to Voice of America’s Afghan service, adding that the department was “aware of the reports.”

The comment, reported by VOA on October 14, did not criticise the emergency or the detention of the province’s elected chief minister.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari approved emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11 under Articles 232 and 234 of Pakistan’s Constitution, suspending the provincial government of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of a planned march by his supporters.

Authorities detained Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several cabinet members. The federal government has accused the provincial administration of colluding with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The PTI has said it will challenge the move in court.

Amnesty International condemned the declaration. Its deputy director for South Asia, Babu Ram Pant, said it “raised concerns about the proportionality of these emergency measures.”

Former US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad warned on X that the step could escalate instability and violence.

The State Department line comes as Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban trade blame over cross-border violence. Islamabad says more than 3,000 people have been killed in 2,800 militant attacks since January.

Washington’s ties with Islamabad were also the subject of a Stimson Center discussion here on Thursday on former US defence official David O. Smith’s book “History Begins Today!” on US-Pakistan relations since 9/11, with Shuja Nawaz, Tamanna Salikuddin and Elizabeth Threlkeld.

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