Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar has advised the party leadership to consider three possible options for responding to the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a post on social media platform X, Umar said PTI could launch a joint campaign against governor’s rule in collaboration with other political parties and elders in the province. He argued that the issue was not limited to one political party but concerned the rights and autonomy of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

As a second option, Umar suggested that if the party wanted to protect its workers from further difficulties amid widespread arrests, it could continue its political struggle through Parliament, the media and social media for some time without changing its political narrative. His third proposal was to increase political engagement with the existing system. He said that since PTI had entered Parliament and formed a government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it could use political contacts to gradually create more space for Imran Khan, the party and its workers. Umar also urged the leadership not to restrict consultations to the party’s core and political committees.

He called for seeking opinions from parliamentarians, organisational office-bearers and supporters in their respective constituencies. He stressed that once a decision was made after consultation, the entire leadership and party workers should pursue it with unity and a clear strategy.Umar said the possible impact of each option on Imran Khan, other detained leaders and party workers should be the most important consideration. The federal government imposed an emergency and six months of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, 2026, citing Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)