(Islamabad) The Pakistani government plans to seek a ban on the political party of former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been in jail for nearly a year, the information minister said on Monday after court rulings in favor of the former official.
“The government has decided to file a petition to ban the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf),” Attaullah Tarar told reporters in Islamabad, adding that the matter would be taken to the Supreme Court.
“We believe there is credible evidence that the PTI needs to be banned,” he added, referring to charges against Mr Khan that include leaking classified documents and inciting riot. “We will vigorously defend this case and will spare no effort,” he added.
In a statement, a PTI spokesperson said the move “is a sign of panic because they have realised that the courts cannot be threatened and put under pressure”.
The PTI “will not tolerate” the government’s efforts to ban it, Raoof Hasan, the PTI’s information chief, told AFP, adding: “PTI has become stronger than before. We will face it.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called the decision to ban the PTI “a huge blow to democratic norms” and said it “reeks of political despair.”
“Polarization”
“If this goes all the way, it will only lead to deeper polarization and the high likelihood of political chaos and violence,” Commission Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt added in a statement.
Imran Khan, 71, has been embroiled in a series of legal cases since leaving power in 2022, a campaign he says is designed to prevent him from regaining power.
He remains in prison but was acquitted on Saturday of a seven-year prison sentence for illegal marriage under Islamic law. The day before, the Supreme Court had granted the PTI about 20 additional seats in parliament, a move seen as a major blow to Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government.
PHOTO WK YOUSAFZAI, ARHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party celebrated after a court overturned his conviction and seven-year prison sentence for illegal marriage on July 13 in Islamabad.
In April, his conviction for illegal marriage was suspended by the courts, which also acquitted him of a charge of treason in early June.
Imran Khan, in power since 2018, was ousted by a no-confidence vote in April 2022 after, according to analysts, losing the support of the all-powerful army.
The former cricket star then launched a campaign for his comeback, drawing large crowds to the streets of the country. He defied the top brass who had once supported him, accusing them of involvement in the assassination attempt in which he was injured at a rally in November 2022.
His first arrest in May 2023, on corruption charges, sparked nationwide protests by supporters expressing anger at the military. In response, the military orchestrated a massive crackdown on the PTI.
Arbitrary detention
Banned from running in the legislative elections last February, won by a coalition of parties considered close to the army and tainted by accusations of fraud, Imran Khan was arrested again in August 2023.
For Osama Mali, an independent legal expert, “it will be very difficult to prove, before the Supreme Court, that an entire party must be banned for the actions of certain people.”
“This would be a violation of freedom of association, which is constitutionally guaranteed,” he explained to AFP.
A UN panel of experts recently ruled that the detention of the former Pakistani prime minister was arbitrary and contrary to international law, calling for his release “immediately”.
His detention “has no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from political office,” the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in an opinion dated March 25 but made public only in early July.