Jamiat Ulema e Islam (JUI) Senator and prominent lawyer Kamran Murtaza has questioned the imposition of an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming the move is aimed at gaining control of the province’s mineral reserves and resources. Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Murtaza said the measures raised several constitutional and legal questions, arguing that constitutional requirements under Articles 232 and 234 had been overlooked. He said the reasons for the president’s satisfaction at the time of approving the emergency should have been presented in writing, along with the relevant supporting material. He also argued that a governor’s report, rather than the prime minister’s summary, was fundamental to the imposition of governor’s rule, but that such a report was not available. The senator said the relevant documents concerning the emergency and governor’s rule had not been presented to Parliament. On the instructions of JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, letters had been sent to the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman seeking the documents. According to Murtaza, the National Assembly speaker confirmed receiving the letter and forwarding it to the relevant ministry. However, he said Parliament was asked to endorse the emergency and governor’s rule without first being provided with the documents. Murtaza also alleged that the federal government had adopted different approaches to the situations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. He said the Mines and Minerals Act referred to by the federal government was inconsistent with the spirit of Article 172 of the Constitution. He added that, on JUI’s instructions, the party had challenged the mining and minerals legislation in court in Balochistan, while a Mines and Minerals Bill had yet to be passed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. The JUI senator claimed that gaining control of mineral reserves was the underlying motive behind the emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He alleged that plans were being considered to separate mineral reserves in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) from the province and bring them under federal control. Murtaza said JUI would continue to play its role in protecting the Constitution and provincial rights, insisting that control over the province’s mineral resources was at the heart of the issue.