• Claims PPP urged Centre to seek political solution before taking any drastic step
• Says PTI protest has had a ‘considerable’ impact even before launch of protest march

KARACHI: Noting that the opposition PTI protest had somewhat already “succeeded” in that the federal capital has been shut for the past 10 days, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday claimed that his party had helped save the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government led by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi from emergency rule by convincing the federal government to hold talks before taking the “extreme step”.

The PPP chairman said his party had urged the federal government to pursue a political solution to the crisis in KP before resorting to constitutional measures such as emergency or governor’s rule. His remarks came a day after the government and opposition began talks over the PTI’s planned October 4 protest march.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Sindh government’s Greater Karachi Sewerage Treatment Plant-1 project, which will initially treat 35 million gallons of wastewater daily, with capacity to scale up to 100 million gallons, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said he had been in contact with the federal government and PPP leadership over the worsening situation in KP, including the deteriorating security situation and recurring terrorist attacks.

He said emergency and governor’s rule were constitutional options available to the state and could be used when circumstances required, but argued that political parties should first exhaust the possibility of reaching a political settlement.

“I was in contact with the federal government and they wanted to impose emergency or governor’s rule in KP,” he said. “Governor’s rule is a constitutional weapon. It is a tool provided in the law and the Constitution, which can be used when there is a need for it. However, my thinking was that before we use our constitutional atomic bomb, we should try to find a political solution. Now the talks are going on in Islamabad, which is beneficial to everyone. And I hope that they would lead to better decisions.”

The PPP chairman also gave credit to the PTI for “the political impact” of its planned protest, saying the march had not yet begun but had already achieved considerable success by keeping the federal capital effectively closed for nearly 10 days.

“You have achieved considerable success at the political level,” he said, addressing the PTI. “But it is also true that when your focus is on protest,

you are unable to focus on the terrorism taking place in your province in the same way, and terrorist incidents are occurring there almost every day.”

Hoping for the success of the talks between the government and the PTI, the PPP chairman also outlined a roadmap for both sides for future engagement and a course of action aimed at achieving “political stability and sustainable peace”.

“Now acknowledge the success you [PTI] have achieved and end this march,” he said. “I also urge the federal and KP governments to reach a written agreement. Keep political matters separate and deal with the policy against terrorism separately. If there is any political deadlock, it needs to be kept separate from issues like terrorism or national interests. I hope these talks, which are very important for all of us, finally produce results that benefit everyone.”

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2026