Information Minister Attaullah Tarar makes the announcement, alleging opposition party involved in antistate activities.
Islamabad, Pakistan – The Pakistani government has said it plans to ban Pakistan Terheek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The announcement by Information Minister Atta Tarar on Monday came days after the Supreme Court handed a major legal victory to the PTI by declaring it eligible for a share of seats reserved in national and provincial assemblies.
“The government has made a decision to ban PTI after seeing all the available evidence. We will move a case to ban the party,” he said, citing accusations including the incitement of violent protests last year and the leaking of classified information.
Tarar added the case would be brought to the Supreme Court.
He also said the government planned to bring treason charges against Khan and two other senior party leaders – former President Arif Alvi and ex-Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri – as well as file a review appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling that said the PTI must be allotted some assembly seats reserved for women and members of religious minorities.
Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a senior PTI leader and party spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the government’s decision “betrays their complete panic”.
“After realising that they cannot threaten the courts or put them under duress, or they cannot blackmail judges anymore, they have decided to make this move via cabinet. All their attempts to stop us have been declared illegal by the courts,” he said.
Last week, the Supreme Court recognised the PTI as a political party and affirmed that not having an election symbol does not affect its legal rights to field candidates.
The ruling was in relation to the PTI being banned to contest Pakistan’s elections in February using its party symbol, the cricket bat, which forced it to field its candidates as independents.
Despite the setback, the PTI-backed contenders emerged as the largest parliamentary bloc securing 93 seats.
After Khan refused to team up with his political rivals, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) joined forces with other smaller parties to form a coalition government.
Ex-Governor Sindh Zubair, who was previously with the PMLN, said the government’s decision was in response to the Supreme Court’s verdict last week and warned of political chaos ahead.
“The powers that be are trying to disenfranchise the largest majority of voters of the country, who voted for PTI,” he told Al Jazeera.
Khan became prime minister in August 2018 but was removed from office in April 2022 following a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.
The former cricket-star-turned politician has since faced a series of legal woes, including charges of misplacing and leaking contents of a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s then ambassador in the United States in 2022.
Khan has repeatedly denied the charge, saying the document contained evidence that his removal as prime minister was a plot hatched by his political opponents and the country’s powerful military, with help from the US administration. Washington and the Pakistani army reject the accusation.
Despite a number of recent court decisions in his favour, Khan remains behind bars since August last year.
