ISLAMABAD: Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday the government was “considering” a ban on former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, saying its supporters had carried out “coordinated” and pre-planned attacks on public properties and military installations earlier this month.
Authorities began a crackdown on Khan associates and supporters after his followers attacked security forces and torched government and military properties, including the home of a top army commander in Lahore, following the popular opposition politician’s arrest on corruption charges on May 9. Troops were deployed to contain the violence, which subsided only after Khan was released on bail on May 12. Thousands of supporters of the popular opposition politician have since been arrested, including the most senior leaders of the PTI.
“Those who attacked the house of the Corps Commander, attacked the GHQ [army headquarters in Rawalpindi], the Gujranwala cantonment, and the air base in Mianwali … these were coordinated attacks,” Asif told reporters, naming important military properties.
“We have gathered plenty of evidence and [PTI] supporters have also confessed that they had been briefed three or even four times about what they had to do in case Khan was arrested.”
“We are assessing the incidents of May 9 and the planning by his party carried out to target our armed forces … these [attacks] were not spontaneous,” Asif added. “Against this background, there are chances, though we haven’t decided anything yet, but we are considering imposing a ban on this party.”
A ban on the PTI, arguably Pakistan’s most popular political party, would be a big blow to Khan, who was ousted from the office of the prime minister last year in a parliamentary vote of no confidence. He says his ouster was part of a plot by the United States and his political opponents who now form the coalition government of PM Shehbaz Sharif, aided by Pakistan’s military. All three have denied the accusations.
Khan has said he is facing nearly 150 legal cases against him since his ouster and has openly accused the government and the army of plotting to ban his party and get him disqualified from public office.
HISTORY OF BANS
The first political party to be outlawed in Pakistan was the Communist Party in 1954 over accusations it had plotted to overthrow then prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan. In the 1960s, the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party was outlawed and during the 1970s, the left-wing National Awami Party was also declared illegal.
The last political party to be banned in Pakistan was the religious political party, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), after it held violent protests in 2021 in which hundreds of police officials were injured and four were killed. The TLP was banned under Section 11B (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 199, which requires the government to have reasonable grounds to place a ban. Khan’s PTI was in government at the time.
Activists and supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party march toward Islamabad to protest against rising inflation in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 22, 2023. (AFP)
The TLP was banned for engaging in terrorist acts, acting in a manner prejudicial to the peace and security of the country, causing grievous bodily harm, hurt and death to law enforcement personnel and by-standers and threatening, abusing, and promoting hatred — all charges the government has accused Khan aides and supporters of since this month’s violence.
According to Section 212 of the Election Act 2017 and Article 17(2) of the Pakistani Constitution which concerns the dissolution of a political party, the government is formally required to file a reference with the Supreme Court within 15 days after making a declaration against a party it wants dissolved.
