Pakistan to ban former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party for alleged anti-state activities

The Pakistan government on Monday announced that it would ban former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, reported Dawn.

This came after Pakistan’s Supreme Court said, in an order last week, that the Opposition party was eligible to seats reserved for women and minorities in the country’s National Assembly, reported The Indian Express.

The ruling paved the way for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to become the single largest party in the National Assembly. This would in turn cause the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz coalition to lose its two-thirds majority in the House.

Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar, however, said that the government’s decision was based on the Khan-led party’s alleged involvement in a series of incidents deemed to be detrimental to the nation.

Tarar added that his country’s government would submit a review petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against its verdict, reported Dawn.

“In view of the foreign funding case, the May 9 riots, the cipher episode, and the resolution passed in the US, we believe that there is very credible evidence present to have the PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] banned,” Tarar said on Monday.

On May 9, 2023, violent protests had broken out in several cities across Pakistan after Khan was arrested in a corruption case.

The cipher case pertains to the unauthorised disclosure of a classified diplomatic cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in early 2022.

The document contained an account of a meeting between US State Department officials and Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States at the time. The United States officials expressed their displeasure at Khan’s neutrality on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to The Intercept.

“You [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf] 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 United States,” Tarar said on Monday.

On June 26, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution questioning the credibility of Pakistan’s general election in February.

The resolution had called for a full and independent investigation into alleged irregularities in the polls, which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf alleged were rigged. The resolution was denounced by the Pakistan government on June 27, reported Al Jazeera.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was forced to field its candidates as independents after the country’s Supreme Court blocked the party from using its electoral symbol. Candidates backed by the party won 97 of 266 National Assembly seats.

With no clear majority going to any party, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz formed a coalition government nearly two weeks after the elections concluded on February 8, amid allegations of electoral malpractice.

Shehbaz Sharif became the prime minister of the country.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf responds

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Monday urged the country’s government to roll back its decision.

“No patriot can think of banning the largest and most popular party of the Pakistan, doing so is tantamount to shaking the foundations of Pakistan and sending the country towards civil war,” it said in a post on X.

At a press conference, party leader Umer Dal said that by suppressing the public mandate, country’s development and safety cannot be realised.

“Pakistan has never accepted any popular party or leader,” he said. “And popular parties have come forward in countries around the world that have developed. Only popular parties have changed the fate of such countries for the better.”

Dal said that the current Parliament of Pakistan does not represent its people. “Today those people are sitting in Parliament who were rejected by the voters on February 8,” he said.