Fazl rejects KP emergency 'word for word', says govt asked him to mediate with PTI then went its own way

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Sunday 11 October 2026 that the federal government had backed out of its commitments after asking him to mediate with PTI, and that his party rejects the emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa "word for word", Dawn reported. He spoke at a press conference at his Islamabad home after an emergency meeting of the party's central core committee.

Fazl's account of the mediation

• He returned from Umrah on 7 October; opposition leaders asked him to help end the standoff, and federal ministers sought his help the next day.
• At his request, PTI's long march for Imran Khan's release stayed inside KP instead of moving on Islamabad.
• The government wanted the march called off first. PTI wanted its leaders allowed to meet Imran Khan in jail and a court order on his transfer to a private hospital carried out.
• Fazl asked PM Shehbaz Sharif for assurances on both points. On a conference call, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi reportedly said the march would end if those demands were met.
• Then, Fazl said, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar told him during Sunday's cabinet meeting that the government would impose an emergency in KP. "Ask Shehbaz Sharif how much authority he had during the negotiations," he said.

What JUI-F will do

1. Challenge the emergency and governor's rule in Parliament and the courts, calling them an "attack on democracy and the rights of the people".
2. Travel to Peshawar for talks with Afridi and others.
3. Propose talks with two representatives each from PTI and PML-N under his supervision.
4. Decide on opposition resignations from the assemblies "when the situation arose".

He also criticised the PPP's role and said Balochistan's security was worse than KP's, yet no governor's rule had been imposed there.

Where things stand

President Asif Ali Zardari approved the emergency and governor's rule on the cabinet's advice on Sunday (Dawn), the army was deployed in KP in aid of civil power (Dawn), and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi chaired the first meeting of an 11-member advisory council (Dawn). PTI has rejected the move and condemned the arrests of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Junaid Akbar, Business Recorder reported. In Peshawar, all schools, colleges and universities are closed on Monday (Peshawar holiday).