The federal government on Sunday imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the president’s approval of the recommendations by the federal cabinet. The measures have been approved under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, the President House said in a statement. The two provisions pertain to the proclamation of emergency and governor’s rule. Article 232 of the Constitution deals with “proclamation of emergency on account of war and internal disturbance”, while Article 234 of the Constitution, more commonly known as “governor’s rule”, empowers the federal government to take control of a province in case of “failure of constitutional machinery”. This isn’t the first time the Centre has used its powers to declare emergency in a province or even send the respective provincial government packing. Here’s a brief history of emergency rule in Pakistan. January 1949 to April 1951 The first governor’s rule was imposed within a short span of the country’s establishment, in the heartland of Punjab. In January 1949, then Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan visited Lahore, where Chief Minister Nawab Mamdot told him that he had earned the confidence of a majority of the MPAs in the provincial assembly. The development had come about due to a disagreement between Mamdot and former CM Mumtaz Daulatana. However, Liaquat Ali Khan noted factual discrepancies in the document shown by Mamdot. He dismissed the Mamdot government, dissolved the assembly, and imposed governor’s rule in the province. December 1951 to May 1953 — Sindh A governor’s rule of 1 year and 144 days lasted in Sindh after Chief Minister Muhammad Ayub Khuhro was dismissed amid allegations of corruption and maladministration. Mian Aminuddin administered the province directly under Governor’s rule, which ended following the 1953 provincial elections, after which Pirzada Abdus Sattar of the Pakistan Muslim League took over. February-April, 1973 — Balochistan On February 14, 1973, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dismissed the Balochistan provincial government led by Chief Minister Sardar Attaullah Mengal and removed Governor Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, citing alleged involvement in unrest and the discovery of weapons at the Iraqi embassy in Islamabad. The next day, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was appointed as the new Governor of Balochistan, and direct central/governor’s rule was enforced. The federal government also subsequently deployed the Pakistan Army under General Tikka Khan to conduct operations in the mountainous and tribal regions, particularly targeting areas like Lasbela and Marri. The governor’s rule ended in late April the same year, paving the way for Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan to form a new provincial ministry. February-May 1975 — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor’s rule was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then known as the North-West Frontier Province) from February 16, 1975, to May 3, 1975, for a total duration of 76 days under Article 232 of the 1973 Constitution due to an emergency. Officials had cited external disruptions beyond local control. At the time, the federal government under PM Bhutto had directed the governor to assume all government powers, ending the cabinet of Chief Minister Sardar Inayatullah Khan Gandapur. The province was overseen by Major General (R) Syed Ghawas until direct rule concluded on May 3, 1975, with Nasrullah Khan Khattak assuming the office of Chief Minister. June-August 1988 — Sindh The second instance of a governor’s rule in Sindh’s history lasted 68 days, from June 24, 1988, to August 31, 1988. The caretaker government of Chief Minister Akhtar Ali Ghulam Qazi of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad was dismissed. Qazi was replaced by Pakistan Army’s four-star general Rahimuddin Khan as governor. This development came closely after President General Zia-ul-Haq’s nationwide dissolution of Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo’s federal government and all provincial assemblies on May 29, 1988. February-April 1994 — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa One of the country’s most controversial political episodes, the governor’s rule imposed in KP from February 25, 1994 to April 24, 1994 came after Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto suspended the PML-N ministry in the province, led by Sabir Shah. Executive authority was temporarily transferred directly to the provincial Governor, Major General (Retd) Khurshid Ali Khan. When the governor’s rule was lifted, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao of the PPP was sworn in as the new chief minister of the province February-March 2009 — Punjab President Asif Ali Zardari imposed governor’s rule for two months, dismissing PML-N’s government after the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif. Zardari appointed Salman Taseer as the governor of Punjab. The provincial assembly was not suspended, but then-CM Shehbaz and his cabinet members were barred from holding office. The governor’s rule was lifted after a month. January-March 2013 — Balochistan PPP’s Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf dismissed Balochistan’s provincial government, yielding to nationwide protests. His announcement came as thousands of Hazara Shias staged a sit-in in freezing cold on Alamdar Road for three days, along with the bodies of dozens of people killed in twin bombings in Quetta The carnage had resulted in over 90 fatalities. The provincial government of Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani was sacked, and Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi took charge as the chief executive of the province. Nationwide emergencies Nationwide emergencies have been imposed several times as well, including martial laws, with the first one just a few years after Pakistan’s creation, in 1954. The longest periods in the country’s history when a nationwide dismissal of parliament persisted were in the martial laws of 1977–1985 under General Zia-ul-Haq, and 1999–2007 under General Pervez Musharraf.