Munir Ahmed, The Associated Press
13 minutes ago
FILE – Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan holds a press conference at his home in Lahore, Pakistan, May 18, 2023. A Pakistani court on Saturday, July 13, 2024, overturned the convictions and seven-year sentences of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, but authorities quickly moved to block his release. (AP Photo/KM Chaudhary, File)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government plans to ban the political party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been jailed since his arrest last year on charges of receiving illegal funds from abroad and involvement in nationwide riots, the information minister said Monday.
The decision is likely to deepen the political turmoil in the country that has been ongoing since Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022. Khan, the main rival of current prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, remains popular despite being convicted in a series of cases he says were politically motivated.
Information Minister Ataullah Talal said the government had “credible evidence” against Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which it has long accused of receiving funds from individuals and organisations abroad. Pakistani law does not allow political parties to receive such donations.
Tarar said the government could ban the party under Pakistan’s constitution but that the decision would have to wait for the Supreme Court’s approval.
Khan’s party has accused Sharif’s coalition government of panicking following a series of court decisions that dismissed many of the cases against him.
Monday’s announcement came two days after a court overturned the guilty verdicts and seven-year sentences given to Khan and his wife. Khan’s supporters had hoped he would be released after about a year of his sentence, but government authorities immediately re-arrested him on charges related to last year’s riots.
The acquittal of Khan and his wife Bibi concerned the legality of their 2018 marriage. Bibi was previously married to a man she claims to have divorced in November 2017, three months before she married Khan. Under Islamic law, there is a three-month waiting period before remarrying.
Bibi said she divorced in August 2017 and argued the couple had not violated the waiting period.
Khan has been involved in more than 150 cases since he was defeated in a no-confidence vote in 2022. His arrest in May 2023 sparked violent protests by angry supporters, mostly attacking military installations. Khan blames his removal on the United States and the powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for half of its history since independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
The United States, Sharif and the military have denied Khan’s allegations.
The violence last year only subsided after the Supreme Court ordered Khan’s release, but he was arrested again in early August 2023 after a court sentenced him to three years in prison on corruption charges.
Khan had been acquitted in recent months in several cases linked to last year’s violence, but his bail was revoked this week in connection with a pending case in the eastern city of Lahore.
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that it was unjust for Khan’s party to fail to win at least 20 seats in parliament, dealing a major blow to the country’s fragile ruling coalition.
Khan’s party had previously been excluded from a system that gives parties extra seats in the lower house of the parliament for women and minorities.
Talal also accused Khan of being ousted as prime minister on Monday as a US-led plot carried out by the military and his rivals, including Sharif, who took office after a February 8 election that Khan claims was rigged.
