Political parties slam govt’s ‘unconstitutional' decision to ban PTI

Several political forces strongly condemned the ruling coalition's move to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) just days after the Supreme Court allowed the Imran Khan-founded party to have reserved seats, potentially making it the largest party in the National Assembly.

The country's top court announced its short order on July 12 granting the PTI to have seats reserved for women and minorities in the lower house of the legislature.

The government announced earlier today that it had decided to ban the PTI and file cases against Imran Khan and former president Dr Arif Alvi for treason under Article 6 of the Constitution, according to Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed, "The PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist." 

The information minister said the decisions were taken in light of the former ruling party's involvement in the May 9 riots and the PTI's former or current leaders' attempts to sabotage Pakistan's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Farhatullah Babar dubbed banning a political party "absurd", saying: "It is also absurdity to talk about launching a treason case against a political leader."

The senior party leader said no case regarding treason or a ban on a political party can sustain itself, adding that these decisions would further deepen the political crisis. "Democracy and the state will not be able to last longer in a critical situation created by the government."

Senior PPP leader Raza Rabbani said the talk of banning a political party by the government "is against all the norms of democracy".

The step of banning a political party in Pakistan’s history has always been unsuccessful and has been thrown in the dustbin of history, he added.

"The country is already facing grave economic and political instability such a step will add political chaos and bog down the economy."

Rabbani, the former Senate chairman, also said that the government should concentrate on curbing the increasing trends of internal terrorism, as a consequence of which "members of the armed forces, security forces, police and civilians are being targeted".

"The government, if aggrieved by the judgement of the SC full court, should follow constitutional way and file a review petition." 

Terming the government's move to ban the PTI "childish and injudicious", the Awami National Party (ANP) said the path of the political parties could not be choked with restrictions and hurdles, stressing: "Restrictions on the political parties and political process are not acceptable at any cost."

"Despite the political difference with the PTI, we believe the government's move would be a folly," the ANP central spokesman said while underscoring the need to identify people who kick up political instability and economic crunch in the country.

Coming down hard on the government's decision, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah raised multiple questions: "Can the decision bring about political and economic stability in the country? Will the decision cause the confrontation to spiral or scale down? What benefit will this decision offer to the public and the country? Does the government of Form 47 have the right to make such decisions?"

The parties that faced restrictions in the past still face today, he added. "Those who slapped such restrictions are nowhere to be seen."

Hamdullah also wondered if the government advocating the powerful quarters or browbeating the court through this decision that comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's verdict in the reserved seats case that allowed the PTI-SIC to have seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National Assembly.

"The decision by the PML-N and other allied parties will strengthen the masked power," he said.

Hamdullah, the former senator, underscored the need for "free and fair elections inevitable for the political and economic stability in the country".

Joining the chorus of the other political parties, recently launched Awam Pakistan's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi voiced outright condemnation of the ruling coalition, saying they cannot undertake it as they have not studied the Constitution and the law.

The rulers are too fond of invoking Article 6, Abbasi said, predicting "they (rulers) themselves will end up facing treason charges if they invoke Article 6 against the PTI".

He said that banning the PTI would further spoil the situation. "It is not essential that we repeat the mistakes committed by the PTI founder."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should rethink the move as the government's mandate is under question, the former PM said, adding that the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-N both have committed blunders in the past.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz also declared the press conference by the government minister as 'ridiculous', saying that the "rulers are making efforts to take the country to further chaos".

The PTI leader also said any such decision would lead the country to political instability. "The PTI will formally respond to the government decision after the party holds consultation in the Core Committee."

HRCP calls govt decision to ban PTI unconstitutional

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed shock over 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," the rights watchdog said in a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

"Moreover, 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."

The HRCP demands the unconstitutional decision be withdrawn immediately, the human rights commission's statement said, adding that if pushed through, it would achieve nothing more than deeper polarisation and a strong likelihood of political chaos and violence.