Pakistan to ban jailed ex-PM Imran Khan's party for alleged anti-state activities

Announcing the unexpected move, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, highlighted the activities of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leadership to weaken the sovereignty of the country and harm its integrity at the international level.

"PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist," Tarar told a press conference here, saying that the matter would go to the Cabinet and the Supreme Court.

He said the government has decided to ban the PTI, file a review petition in reserved seat case, and file cases against the PTI founder, former president Arif Alvi and ex-National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri for subverting the Constitution. He said strict legal action would be taken against a handful of overseas Pakistanis for anti-state activities.

The minister alleged that PTI has long been involved in anti-state activities, saying the constitution empowers the federal government to seek a ban on such a party by sending the case to the Supreme Court.

He said that the government would be justified in banning PTI over its alleged involvement in matters ranging from obtaining prohibited funding to sabotaging the IMF deal and from resettling the Taliban in Pakistan to the May 9 riots. He said that the prohibited funding proceedings were continuously being stayed for the last six years.

"In view of the foreign funding case, May 9 riots, and the cipher episode as well as the resolution passed in the US, we believe that there is very credible evidence present to have Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) banned," he said.

Khan's party reacted sharply to the government's decision to ban the party, saying the move came "out of desperation" and was a "sign of panic" within the federal administration.

"The federal government has decided to ban PTI as a political party. Reasons cited by the information minister are the cipher case and the US Congressional Resolution on electoral rigging and politically motivated cases with no merit in sight. The PML-N is shooting its own foot for these reasons," the PTI said in a statement.

"The PML-N is shooting its own foot for these reasons because Khan has been acquitted in the cipher case and the US congressional resolution points out the ordeal a political party has to face over the period of a few months," the PTI statement added.

But Information and Broadcasting Minister Tarar said a series of events that set off in the form of a chain, gave a clear understanding of the anti-state agenda of the PTI which first brought terrorists back into the country and then attacked the state institutions to undermine its sovereignty.

"You tried to damage the country's diplomatic relations for the sake of your political interests and went on to get a resolution passed against Pakistan in the US," Tarar said, referring to the Cipher case involving Khan.

Khan, 71, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on account of multiple cases against him since his ouster as prime minister in April 2022.

The federal government has decided to ban the former ruling party as well as file cases against PTI founder Khan and former Pakistan president Alvi for treason.

"Our patience and tolerance are considered as our weaknesses. The PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist as the government is trying to stabilise the country politically and economically, while efforts are being made to thwart its efforts," Tarar said.

Tarar also announced that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government and its coalition partners have decided to file a review appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court granting reserved seats to the PTI in the National Assembly.

"The apex court gave relief to the PTI which had not even asked for it," the minister said.

The decisions were taken in light of the former ruling party's involvement in the May 9 events last year and the PTI's former or current leaders' attempts to sabotage Pakistan's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Referring to the time when the then-government decided to dissolve the assemblies during the no-confidence motion against Khan in 2022, the minister said the ruling alliance has also decided to move a case against the then-prime minister, then-president Alvi and then National Assembly deputy speaker Suri.

Interestingly, the government's decision comes on the heels of relief given to the PTI by the Supreme Court in the case of the reserved seats as well as to Khan in the illegal marriage case.

The development also comes following PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi's indictment in cases related to the May 9 riots and Khan's arrest in cases linked to the incidents that took place following Khan's arrest in an alleged corruption case.

In a key judgment, the Supreme Court had last week declared that Khan's PTI was eligible for the seats reserved for women and minorities in the national and four provincial assemblies. If allotted thus, the PTI will become the largest party in the National Assembly with 109 seats.

On Saturday, a district and session court overturned the conviction of Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, 49, in the un-Islamic marriage case related to the violation of the mandatory waiting period for a Muslim woman between two marriages.

The PTI founder and hundreds of his party colleagues are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the Official Secrets Act, in connection with the May 9 violent protests by his supporters that damaged key military installations across Pakistan last year.