Reversing course on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ban, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that the ruling administration is determined to implement its “principled” decision, which will be carried out following consultations and pertinent legal research.
Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of “Capital Talk” on Geo News, Tarar stated, “[We] have consulted with the Pakistan Peoples Party regarding the PTI ban and are currently in talks with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan […] people are strongly supporting [the idea of banning [PTI]”.
The minister’s statements come after his declaration from last week that the “PTI and Pakistan could not co-exist” and that he was going to outlaw the Imran Khan-founded party.According to Tarar, the actions were made in response to the former ruling party’s participation in the May 9 activities and the attempts of PTI officials, both past and present, to undermine Pakistan’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Furthermore, he declared that Khan, then-president Arif Alvi, and then-deputy speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri will all face treason charges under Article 6 of the Constitution.
However, a number of political groups responded angrily to the statement, calling the action “childish” and “unconstitutional”.
Senior PPP officials, who are an important ally of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), also expressed their disapproval of the ban action, with Farhatullah Babar calling it “absurd”.
