PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mian Iftikhar Hussain has expressed concern over the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province, saying that extraordinary administrative measures and suspension of the democratic system would not resolve its problems.
In a statement issued here on Monday, the ANP leader said the solution to the province’s problems lay in upholding the Constitution, parliamentary democracy, provincial autonomy and respect for the public mandate.
Mr Hussain said the ANP had consistently maintained that imposing emergency or governor’s rule would aggravate existing problems rather than resolve them. He said such measures were a matter of serious concern for the democratic system and made it clear that his party would not support any undemocratic action.
He said KP had been facing insecurity, terrorism, economic difficulties and administrative challenges for several years. The people needed peace, security, employment, education, healthcare and their constitutional rights over the province’s resources, he added.
If the law and order situation was alarming, he said, all relevant institutions should fulfil their constitutional responsibilities, adopt a clear and effective strategy to eliminate terrorism and take the public into confidence.
A mere change in the administrative structure of the government could not guarantee lasting peace, he added.
The ANP leader said his party did not change its principles on the basis of whether a particular political party was in power or in opposition. Democracy, non-violence, national rights, provincial autonomy and the protection of the people’s right to govern themselves had always remained central to its politics, he said.
Mr Hussain said the ANP had opposed undemocratic measures in the past and could not support any step that undermined democracy or weakened the people’s authority.
He said the people of KP needed peace, stability, democratic rights and control over their resources rather than another political confrontation or uncertainty.
The ANP, he added, would continue to play its constitutional, democratic and political role in protecting these rights.
Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2026
