Amnesty International has warned Pakistan’s authorities against using the declaration of a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as a pretext to suppress dissent and violate human rights.

The warning came after President Asif Ali Zardari approved the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province, alongside the deployment of armed forces.

Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s deputy director for South Asia, said reports of arbitrary detentions of key leaders, including the provincial chief minister, and internet disruptions across the province had raised concerns about the proportionality of the emergency measures.

“Emergency measures are not a blank cheque to crack down on human rights, silence dissent, or concentrate power,” he said.

Pant acknowledged that states could, in strictly limited circumstances, derogate from their human rights obligations to respond to a public emergency threatening the existence of the nation. However, he stressed that such measures must not be used to curtail fundamental rights beyond what was strictly necessary.

He also expressed concern over the deployment of the military, citing a history of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions during counterterrorism operations by the armed forces.

The deployment could further militarise the province and create conditions for the unlawful use of force, he warned.

Pant urged Pakistani authorities to avoid assigning military personnel ordinary policing duties and ensure that armed forces remained accountable and complied with international human rights law and standards.

He also called on the federal authorities to ensure independent oversight of all actions taken under the emergency framework and guarantee that every measure was strictly necessary and proportionate to the situation.

According to Amnesty International, Zardari approved the federal cabinet’s recommendations on 11 October to impose a state of emergency under Article 232 of Pakistan’s constitution and governor’s rule under Article 234.

The government cited an “unprecedented level of violent intensity of terrorist attacks” and a “breakdown of constitutional machinery” in the province as grounds for the measures.

The emergency provisions allow the federal legislature, comprising the National Assembly and Senate, to legislate on provincial matters and permit the suspension of fundamental rights, including freedoms of assembly, association and expression.

Under the presidential notification, the provincial assembly’s powers would be exercised by the federal parliament. The chief minister, provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants and advocate general would also cease to hold office.

Separately, the federal government deployed the Pakistan military in the province under Article 245 of the constitution to assist civil authorities.

Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2013. The party formed its latest provincial government with a two-thirds majority following the 2024 general election.