ISLAMABAD: Discussions over the possible imposition of an emergency or governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have raised important constitutional questions about the federal government’s authority, the conditions required to invoke such powers and the role of the judiciary in reviewing these measures.
Pakistan’s Constitution establishes distinct legal procedures for declaring an emergency, dealing with a breakdown of constitutional governance in a province and addressing a financial emergency. These mechanisms carry different legal implications and cannot be treated as interchangeable.
The relevant provisions are primarily set out in Articles 232 to 237, while Article 48 deals with the President’s exercise of constitutional powers on the advice of the Cabinet or the Prime Minister.
What does the Constitution say about a state of emergency?
Article 232 empowers the President to proclaim an emergency if Pakistan, or any part of the country, faces a serious threat to its security because of war, external aggression or internal disturbances beyond the capacity of a provincial government to control.
The provision does not give the federal government an unrestricted power to impose an emergency simply because of political differences with a provincial administration.
Where an emergency is proposed on the grounds of internal disturbances beyond a provincial government’s control, the Constitution requires a resolution from the relevant provincial assembly. If the President issues a proclamation without such a resolution, it must be approved by Parliament within 10 days.
An emergency proclamation must be placed before a joint sitting of Parliament, which is required to meet within 30 days to consider it. The proclamation ordinarily expires after two months unless approved by the joint sitting. Parliament also retains the authority to reject it.
What changes during an emergency?
The declaration of an emergency can significantly expand the federal government’s authority over provincial affairs.
During such a period, Parliament may legislate on matters that would ordinarily fall within provincial jurisdiction, while the federal government may issue directions to provincial authorities.
Article 232 also provides a mechanism through which the federal government can assume specified provincial executive functions by issuing an order or direct the governor to exercise those functions on its behalf.
However, these powers have constitutional limits. An emergency proclamation does not authorise the federal government to assume the constitutional powers of a High Court or suspend the constitutional provisions governing High Courts.
The possibility of emergency measures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa therefore raises questions not only about the federal government’s powers but also about the constitutional safeguards, approval requirements and legal limits governing their exercise.
