Pakistan Government wants to ban former Prime Minister Khan's party
The government in Pakistan wants to ban the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. This was announced by Information Minister Atta Tarar at a press conference. "This country needs to move forward. Pakistan and the PTI cannot exist together," said Tarar. Khan's PTI is the largest opposition party in the country.
15.07.2024, 15:51
15.07.2024, 16:00
SDA
Although opposition leaders in the South Asian country often end up in prison, bans on entire parties are unusual. If the cabinet and the Supreme Court approve the ban, Khan's popularity could lead to unrest in the nuclear power, which is currently plagued by a severe economic crisis. Observers described the move as "desperate" and "untenable".
The ban is justified by nationwide riots last year, in which members of the PTI were also involved. During the protests - which were triggered by Khan's arrest - facilities of the powerful military were attacked in several cities. According to Tarar, the leaking of confidential information by party leader Khan during his tenure as prime minister is also a reason.
Supreme Court just awarded parliamentary seats to PTI
The PTI had Khan as prime minister until April 2022, when he was ousted by a vote of no confidence. Khan then regularly called for demonstrations and was able to mobilize the masses as a popular opposition leader. There were increasing restrictions on the PTI. In the parliamentary elections in February, the PTI was only allowed to send its members into the race as independent candidates following a ruling by the Supreme Court.
Against all expectations, the independent candidates became the strongest force, but did not receive any of the reserved seats for women and members of religious minorities, which are normally allocated to the parties according to their election results. A few days ago, the Supreme Court finally ruled that Khan's party must be allocated these reserved seats. After the election, the second and third strongest parties agreed to form a coalition government with smaller parties.
Since Khan's dismissal as Prime Minister, the judiciary has brought new accusations against him. These include corruption, money laundering and insulting a judge. He was found guilty in several cases and has been behind bars for around a year. Information Minister Tarar has now said that the government will also initiate proceedings to bring charges against Khan on suspicion of high treason. The maximum penalty for this is the death penalty.
Many observers see the judiciary's actions against Khan as politically motivated. Under Khan as prime minister, the judiciary was also used to prevent opposition members from carrying out their political activities.
