Govt decides to ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – SUCH TV

Information Minister Atta Tarar on Monday said that the government will move a case to ban Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party.

This decision comes on the heels of relief given to the PTI by the top court in the reserved seats case as well as to the party chief in the Iddat case.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s judgement, PTI is set to emerge as the single largest party in the National Assembly, while the ruling coalition seems set to lose its two-thirds majority.

Speaking during a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar said that if the country is to move in a forward direction, it cannot do so with PTI’s existence.

“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 the PTI banned,” he said.

The information minister added that the government would also submit a review petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against its verdict last week which declared that PTI would be eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities.

The information minister added that whether it was the foreign funding case, the riots of May 9, or the manipulation of the cipher saga, in which the former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed — who authored the cipher — clarified that there was “no threat”, the PTI continued decrying that the country was in danger.

“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,” he said.

Article 17 (2) of the Constitution states that “every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or be a member of a political party, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan.”

It further adds that “such law shall provide that where the Federal Government declares that any political party has been formed or is operating in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, the Federal Government shall, within fifteen days of such declaration, refer the matter to the Supreme Court whose decision on such reference shall be final.”

The information minister said that the government would also submit a review petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against its verdict last week which declared that PTI would be eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities.

He said that regarding the apex court’s verdict, an impression was created that the party was given relief without asking for it.

“However, Tehreek-i-Insaf was not a party in the case, the members [in question] did not claim to be PTI candidates, and all of them submitted Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) affidavits and joined the party”, he said, adding that according to the manifesto of the SIC, a non-Muslim could not become a member of the party which is why the party could not get minorities’ seats.

“The [SIC] MNAs never expressed their desire to join the PTI before the Supreme Court, therefore, given the legal inaccuracy in this decision, the ruling governmental party and its allies have decided to submit a review petition against the Supreme Court’s verdict,” Tarar said.