ISLAMABAD: The United States State Department said on Monday it was following reports of the Pakistan government’s plans to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of ex-premier Imran Khan, adding that outlawing any political party was of “great concern” to Washington.
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar announced on Monday the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was planning to ban the PTI and move the country's top court to press treason charges against Khan.
“We’ve seen the reports and the statements made by the government,” a State Department spokesperson told reporters in response to a question.
“Our understanding is this is the beginning of a complex process, but certainly the banning of a political party is something that would be of great concern to us.”
Tarar has said the decision to ban the PTI was based on the "proven" charge of the party receiving foreign funding, which is illegal in Pakistan, rioting by its supporters last year that targeted military properties and because Khan had leaked, for political gains, state secrets by disclosing the contents of a classified diplomatic cable in what has come to be popularly called the cipher case.
Other reasons included that Khan's party had lobbied in Washington to get the US House of Representatives to support a resolution calling for a probe into Pakistan's elections and Khan had written to the IMF for an election audit before approving a new bailout loan.
The PTI has said the announcement of the ban was yet another attempt by the weak governing coalition to squash Khan and his party’s political popularity.
Jailed since August, Khan was last week acquitted, along with his third wife, on charges that they married unlawfully but he will not be freed after authorities issued new orders to arrest him.
Khan came to power in 2018 and was ousted in 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan's powerful military, which denies political interference. His popularity has grown since his ouster and jailing and the candidates he had backed won the most seats in Feb. 8 general elections.
