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16-07-2024
By SJA Jafri
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has said it plans to ban Pakistan Terheek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The announcement by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday came days after the Supreme Court handed a major legal victory to the PTI by declaring it eligible for a share of seats reserved in national and provincial assemblies.
“The government has made a decision to ban PTI after seeing all the available evidence. We will move a case to ban the party,” he said, citing accusations, including the incitement of violent protests last year and the leaking of classified information.
Tarar added the case would be brought to the Supreme Court.
He also said the government planned to bring treason charges against Khan and two other senior party leaders former President of Pakistan Arif Alvi and ex-Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri as well as file a review appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling that said the PTI must be allotted some assembly seats reserved for women and members of religious minorities.
Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a senior PTI leader and party spokesperson, told media that the government’s decision “betrays their complete panic”.
“After realising that they cannot threaten the courts or put them under duress, or they cannot blackmail judges any more, they have decided to make this move via cabinet. All their attempts to stop us have been declared illegal by the courts,” he said.
Last week, the Supreme Court recognized the PTI as a political party and affirmed that not having an election symbol does not affect its legal rights to field candidates.
The ruling was in relation to the PTI being banned from contesting parliamentary elections in February using its party symbol, the cricket bat, which forced it to field its candidates as independents. Despite the setback, the PTI-backed contenders emerged as the largest parliamentary bloc securing 93 seats.
After Khan refused to team up with his political rivals, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) joined forces with other smaller parties to form a coalition government.
Ex-Governor Sindh Zubair, who was previously with the PMLN, said the government’s decision was in response to the Supreme Court’s verdict last week and warned of political chaos ahead.
“The powers that be are trying to disenfranchise the largest majority of voters of the country, who voted for PTI,” he told media. Khan became prime minister in August 2018 but was removed from office in April 2022 following a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.
The cricketer-turned-politician has since faced a series of legal woes, including charges of misplacing and leaking the content of a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s then-ambassador in the United States in 2022.
Khan has repeatedly denied the charge, saying the document contained evidence that his removal as prime minister was a plot hatched by his political opponents and the country’s powerful military, with help from the US administration. Washington and the Pakistani army reject the accusation.
Despite several recent court decisions in his favor, Khan remains behind bars since August last year.
Khan is arrested in a corruption case while making a court appearance in capital Islamabad, triggering nationwide protests by his supporters who blame the military for orchestrating the arrest. The military has consistently denied any role in Khan’s legal or political troubles amid deadly protests led by PTI, Pakistan’s Supreme Court says Khan’s arrest is illegal, ordering his immediate release.
