Pakistan, Oct. 14 -- In any functioning state, one principle sits above all others: no individual, party or institution is greater than the state itself. Governments come and go, mandates are won and lost, but the obligation to protect citizens and uphold the writ of the state does not change. It is against this principle that the imposition of emergency and Governor's Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must be understood. Terrorist threats have escalated, and law and order has remained fragile, and when the state judges that ordinary arrangements can no longer meet that obligation, it is expected to act. Such a step deserves to be assessed on its logic and its results, not on party loyalties.

The reasoning behind it is direct. Militant networks...