The government has decided to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for which it intends to file an application in the Supreme Court.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced this at a press conference on Monday. The minister said that the country has been played with a lot and if there is to be any development in the country, Pakistan and PTI cannot co-exist.
“Based on the evidence, the government will seek ban on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” Tarar said, adding that the federal government has decided to ban the party and move the Supreme Court for it.
He cited the case of foreign funding, the so-called cipher from the US, the alleged sabotage of the previous IMF program, the anti-Pakistan resolution in the US Congress as “clear evidence” for the decision.
The minister further said the government believes it has the power to ban political parties under Article 17 of the Constitution, adding that looking at the “evidence”, PTI should be banned. “They were trying to sabotage the IMF deal,” he claimed.
Moreover, he also announced that the government has decided to file a review of the Supreme Court’s decision on reserved seats. “The Supreme Court has given relief to PTI which was never sought,” the minister claimed.
He said the government reserved the right to file a review appeal against the decision, saying the women whose rights had been usurped believed a review should be filed. “He will question whether those who submitted the affidavits sought the relief that was granted to them,” he noted.
Tarar questioned whether it was not the power of parliament to interpret and amend the constitution, adding that the federal government would rely on strong constitutional points in the Supreme Court review application. “There is clear evidence of illegal funding (PTI),” claimed Tarar. “The foreign funding case was left pending for six years; it involved Indian funding.”
The minister also announced that the former PTI government had illegally dissolved the National Assembly, hence an application under Article 6 of the Constitution would be filed against former President Arif Alvi, former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.
“Once approved by the Federal Cabinet, the reference will be sent to the Supreme Court,” he said.
