ISLAMABAD: The federal government has established an 11-member advisory council for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a separate administrative secretariat to oversee 12 terrorism-affected districts, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Sunday, as he defended the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Nazeer Tarar said President Asif Ali Zardari had invoked Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following detailed consultations and unsuccessful negotiations with the provincial government. He said the government had also issued a fresh proclamation under Article 245 to provide assistance to the provincial administration through the armed forces, describing the move as an effort to bring greater coordination to counterterrorism operations. Nazeer Tarar said the constitutional measures were taken in response to what he described as an exceptionally serious security situation, with terrorist attacks and extremist activities posing a grave threat to lives and property in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.