Politicians, journalists react to govt’s decision to ‘ban’ PTI

The federal government on Monday announced its plans to ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and seek Article 6 proceedings against its founder Imran Khan, ex-president Dr Arif Alvi, and former deputy NA speaker Qasim Suri.

The announcement came following the relief given to the party by the top court in the reserved seats case as well as to the party founder Imran Khan in the Iddat case.

Addressing a presser, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the country could not move forward with the Imran Khan-founded party’s existence.

“In view of the foreign funding case, May 9 riots, and the cipher case as well as the resolution passed in the US, we believe that there is credible evidence present to have the PTI banned,” he said.

The minister added: “We are going to impose a ban on PTI and we believe that Article 17 of the Constitution gives the government the right to ban political parties, and the matter will be referred to the Supreme Court.”

Here’s what politicians and journalists had to say about the government’s decision:

The Human Rights Council of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed its shock by the government’s decision to ban the PTI.

“Not only is this move in flagrant violation of party members’ right to association under Article 17 of the Constitution, but it is also an enormous blow to democratic norms, especially when the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the PTI is a political party”, it noted.

Moreover, the council said, such a move reeks of “political desperation”, given that it follows closely on the heels of the apex court’s ruling that has effectively made the PTI the single largest party in the National Assembly after making it eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities.

HRCP demands that this unconstitutional decision be withdrawn immediately. “If pushed through, it will achieve nothing more than deeper polarisation and the strong likelihood of political chaos and violence”.

“No government can afford to have a selective memory and conveniently forget the consequences of banning or demonising political parties lest it find itself on the receiving end of such measures”, it concluded.

Former PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar also reacted to the government’s decision, saying that talk of banning a political party or trial of a political leader for treason is “rubbish, unsustainable [and] compounding political crisis”.

He warned that US democracy will sustain its current crisis, [but] Pakistani democracy, indeed state itself, is unlikely to sustain impound crisis.

Meanwhile, prominent Lawyer Jibran Nasir said that the pursuit of seeking a ban on the PTI “not only shows how weak the PML-N is but how desperate and frustrated the establishment has become”.

“Neither the establishment could fool the voters to support the PML-N over PTI with propaganda nor could it terrorise its core members and workers to leave PTI through raids, arrests, abductions and torture,” he wrote on X.

Former PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar – in a statement – noted that the government was under pressure, adding that the move to ban the PTI was akin to following the “legacy of dictators”.

“Insulting the public’s mandate should now stop,” he demanded.

Journalists

In a post on X, journalist Zarrar Khuhro pointed out that “as with each and every move this too will backfire spectacularly”.

“Oh the combination of fear, desperation and an absolute lack of any brains at all. Brought to you by the same brilliant minds who thought the Iddat case and having Maneka count menstrual cycles on TV was a sure shot winning idea,” he said.

Meanwhile, senior journalist Mubashir Zaidi warned that banning the PTI would be a “grave mistake”.

On the other hand, journalist Moizur Rehman said today’s announcement by the government had “no legal basis or standing”.

“The Supreme Court will not entertain such ridiculous cases,” he said in a post on X, adding that this episode would give the ruling party an opportunity to increase their confrontation with the SC in order to “play the victim card”.

Taking to X, journalist Hamid Mir said the country’s history showed that a political party’s leadership could not be eliminated by banning it. “This is a lesson from the past that the PPP has learned … the PML-N is yet to understand it,” he added.