No decision yet on banning PTI, to be decided by leadership, allies: Dar

Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that no conclusive decision was taken yet on the government’s recent move to ban the PTI and such a step would only be decided by the leadership and its allies.

In its latest attempt to suppress the PTI, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government on Monday announced that it had decided to ban the party and seek Article 6 proceedings against its founder Imran Khan, ex-president Dr Arif Alvi, and former National Assembly (NA) deputy speaker Qasim Suri.

The move appeared to be an attempt to prevent the PTI from becoming the single largest party in the NA as the announcement was made on the heels of relief given to the party by the top court in the reserved seats case as well as to the party chief in the Iddat case.

The move attracted flak from across the political spectrum, with the stakeholders calling the move undemocratic, which could have far-reaching ramifications if executed. Besides the PTI, leaders from other parties — including the PPP, Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, and Jamaat-i-Islami — criticised the decision.

Questioned about the matter while speaking to the media in Lahore today, DPM Dar said: “The information minister clearly said [that the decision to ban] will be made by leadership after [consultation] with allies.”

He said it was “proven” and the Election Commission of Pakistan had evidence present that the PTI was a “foreign-funded party”. “This is a reality which no one can deny,” he added.

Dar further said: “This decision [to ban the PTI] will obviously be looked at first by the leadership and after that, our allies will be consulted in accordance with the law and the Constitution. No decision will be taken here like those that are taken against the law and the Constitution.”

He reiterated to another question that “no decision has been taken yet.”

DPM Dar said the safety and security of the country should be sacrosanct above all else and anyone working against them was unacceptable. “The event of May 9 is unacceptable and whoever is involved in it should be punished as per the law and Constitution,” he added.

PPP to give opinion after consultation

Meanwhile, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari said the party would give its own opinion after internal consultation and downplayed statements from other party leaders as their personal opinions.

He said Farhatullah Babar’s view on the issue was “not party policy”.

Bukhari said the PPP gave its opinion only through its spokespersons.

Earlier, PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri said the party was not taken into confidence by the PML-N on the matter.

She said the party chairman was currently out of the country and the party would give its opinion after consultation.

US expresses ’ deep concern’

US Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller commented on the development in the State Department’s daily news briefing yesterday.

“Our understanding is this is the beginning of what will be a complex political process,” he said, “But certainly banning a political concern is something — or a political party is something that would be of great concern to us.”

Miller said the US supports “the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights and freedom of expression”.

He said the US supported democratic processes such as the rule of and equal justice under the law, adding that Washington will continue to “monitor the — these decisions and further decision — any further decisions by the courts”.

Miller also discussed political violence, given the recent attempt on Republican Candidate Donald Trump’s life.

While answering a question from a journalist who compared the recent incident to the assassination attempt on incarcerated leader Imran Khan’s life in November 2022, Miller said that the US abhors “political violence in any country, including Pakistan, and have spoke out against it and condemned it”.

“And we support the rule of law in Pakistan and every country in the world, and we want to see respect for democratic principles and people’s fundamental human rights and democratic rights upheld,” he added.