The government of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif plans to seek a formal ban on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“We feel we have very credible evidence that Tehreek-e-Insaf should be banned,” Attaullah Tarar, the minister for information and broadcasting, said at a press briefing in Islamabad on Monday.
Alleging the party had received foreign funds and organized anti-state rioting, Tarar said the government would approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan to seek a ban.
The PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist,” Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a press conference in Islamabad, saying that the matter would go to the federal cabinet and the Supreme Court.
As per Tarar, the decisions were taken in light of the former ruling party’s involvement in the May 9 events and the PTI’s former or current leaders’ attempts to sabotage Pakistan’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking about the time when the then-government decided to dissolve the assemblies during the no-confidence motion against Khan, the minister said the ruling alliance has also decided to move a reference against the then-prime minister, then-president Arif Alvi and then National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri.
He said that this reference, under Article 6, will be sent to the Supreme Court after the cabinet’s approval.
Referring to what is known as the cipher case, Tarar said that the PTI founder and his party “played” with the diplomatic cable and used it to create a false narrative around it.
The cipher case controversy revolves around Khan claiming that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal from the prime minister’s office.
The same month, the then NA opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif tabled the no-confidence motion against the then PM Khan.
However, the then NA deputy speaker Suri dismissed the motion citing sufficient evidence of alleged US interference.
Subsequently, the then president Alvi dissolved the lower house on the advice of the then PM Khan.
