In a major blow to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Government of Pakistan on Monday announced that it will ban the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party. According to Pakistan’s prominent news website Dawn.com, Pakistan’s information minister Atta Tarar said that the decision was taken over the alleged ‘anti-state’ activities committed by the party.
The decision comes after the Pakistan Supreme Court gave relief to Khan in the Iddat case. It should be noted that after the SC verdict, PTI would have emerged as the single biggest party in the National Assembly. Addressing the media, Tarar said that Pakistan can’t move to a better future with the PTI existing in the political landscape.
Tarar cited May 9 riots, cipher episode as well as foreign funding case and said that there was “very credible evidence” that have necessitated ban on PTI.
Tarar further added the government will soon submit a review petition before the Supreme Court against its last week’s judgment that had declared PTI’s eligibility regarding reserved seats for minorities and women, the Dawn.com report said. In the ruling, the top court had said that PTI was eligible for over 20 additional reserved seats in the National Assembly.