Pakistan To Ban Former PM Imran Khan’s PTI After Acquittal From Unlawful Marriage Conviction. Shehbaz Sharif-led government of Pakistan seems to be adamant about doing away with former prime minister Imran Khan one way or the other, this time seeking to ban his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
This comes after a court in Pakistan acquitted Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on charges of unlawful marriage, and ordered their immediate release. They were sentenced to seven years imprisonment just before the general elections in February 2024.
Atta Tarar, Pakistan’s Information Minister, said the country has to move forward without PTI. He highlighted the foreign funding case, the May 9 riots, and the cipher case, saying there’s a need for Khan’s party to be banned. Tarar said the government will ban PTI under Article 17 of the Pakistan Constitution.
Article 17 empowers the government with the right to ban political parties. It states that the law shall provide that where the Federal Government declares that any political party that has been formed or is operating in a prejudicial manner to the integrity of Pakistan, refer it to the Supreme Court, and its decision would be final. The government is also acting against Arif Alvi, Imran Niazi and Qasim Suri.
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PTI Ban Will Have Repercussions Across Pakistan
PTI spokesperson said the government’s move would uproot the foundations of Pakistan. The party took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to say that no patriot can think of banning the country’s largest and most popular party.
It highlighted that doing so would be tantamount to uprooting the foundations of Pakistan and sending the country spiraling toward civil war.
Hammad Azhar, PTI Punjab’s Acting President, called the government a hypocrite saying that it facilitated dialogue with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), and banned PTI.
The government also drew flak from PPP with a former senator saying the center was under pressure, and insulting the public’s mandate.
