Islamabad: Pakistan’s government stepped up its demands against Imran Khan on Monday, announcing its decision to ban his political party over alleged receipt of illegal foreign funds, involvement in riots and “anti-national” activities that could see the jailed former prime minister charged with treason.
Announcing the unexpected move, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ataullah Tarar emphasised that Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leadership are working to undermine the country’s sovereignty and damage the country’s unity at the international level.
“PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist,” Tarar told a press conference here and added that the issue would be taken up before the cabinet and the Supreme Court.
He said the government had decided to ban the PTI, file a petition for review of the reservation issue and file charges of subverting the constitution against PTI founder and former president Arif Alvi and former deputy speaker of parliament Qasim Suri, and would take strict legal action against several overseas Pakistanis for anti-national activities.
Alleging that the PTI has been involved in anti-national activities for years, the minister said the constitution empowers the federal government to send a case to the Supreme Court seeking a ban on such parties.
He said the government was justified in banning the PTI given its alleged involvement in issues ranging from raising prohibited funds to obstructing IMF deals, resettlement of the Taliban in Pakistan to the May 9 violence. He said the process of prohibited funds has been continuously delayed for the last six years.
“Considering the foreign funding case, the May 9 riots, the crypto case and the resolution passed in the US, we believe there is very credible evidence to ban Mr Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” he said.
Khan’s party reacted strongly to the government’s decision to ban the party, saying the move was “born out of desperation” and a “sign of panic” within the federal government.
“The federal government has decided to ban PTI as a political party. The reasons cited by the Information Minister are the cryptocurrency case and the Congress resolution on election rigging and politically motivated baseless cases. PML-N is shooting itself in the foot on these grounds,” PTI said in a statement.
“The PML-N is shooting itself in the foot on these grounds as Khan has been acquitted in the code case and the Congress resolution points out the challenges the political party will have to face in the coming months,” the PTI statement added.
However, Information and Broadcasting Minister Tarar said the chain of events gave a clear insight into the PTI’s anti-national design to first invite terrorists back into the country and then attack state institutions and undermine sovereignty.
“You tried to undermine diplomatic ties with Pakistan for your own political gains and tried to pass a resolution against Pakistan in the US,” Tarar said, referring to the Cypher incident in which Khan was implicated.
Khan, 71, has been lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail in multiple cases since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022.
The federal government has decided to ban the former ruling party and to charge PTI founder Khan and former Pakistan President Alvi with treason.
“Our patience and tolerance are considered our weakness. The government is trying to bring political and economic stability to the country but there are moves to thwart its efforts and hence PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist,” Tarar said.
Tarar also announced that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government and its coalition partners have decided to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision to grant seats to the PTI in the National Assembly.
“The Supreme Court has given relief to the PTI which it did not even seek,” the minister said.
The decision was taken in view of the former ruling party’s involvement in the May 9 incident last year and attempts by former and current PTI leaders to sabotage Pakistan’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Referring to the then government’s decision to dissolve Parliament in a no-confidence motion against Khan in 2022, the minister said the ruling alliance had also decided to file legal action against the then prime minister, then president Alvi and then deputy speaker of the National Assembly Suri.
Interestingly, the government’s decision comes soon after the Supreme Court granted relief to the PTI in the reserved seats case and to Khan in the illegal marriage case.
The move comes after PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was booked in a case linked to the May 9 riots and arrested in a case linked to the events that followed Khan’s arrest on corruption charges.
In a landmark ruling last week, the Supreme Court declared Khan’s PTI entitled to seats reserved for women and minorities in the national assembly and four provincial assemblies, which would make it the largest party in parliament with 109 seats.
On Saturday, a local court overturned the convictions of Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, 49, in a non-Islamic marriage case for violating the waiting period required for Muslim women between two marriages.
The PTI founder and hundreds of his party colleagues are on trial in several cases, including under the Official Secrets Act, in connection with violent protests by his supporters on May 9 last year that damaged key military installations across Pakistan.
