Peshawar [Pakistan], July 21 : The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed a resolution opposing the Pakistan government's efforts to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The resolution said that such a ban would violate Article 17 of the Constitution, according to The International News.
The resolution, moved by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights, Aftab Alam Khan Afridi, said that PTI would move court if the ban was imposed on the party.
The resolution also asserted that the ban on the PTI, if placed, would be a violation of Article 17 of the Constitution.
The resolution also noted that despite the Supreme Court's recent ruling recognizing PTI as a legitimate political entity, federal ministers continued to issue statements advocating for the party's ban, according to The International News.
Notably, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's ruling coalition received a major setback after the country's Supreme Court declared Imran Khan's PTI eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities.
Earlier on July 17, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key ally of the ruling coalition in Pakistan, distanced itself from statements issued by some of its members opposing the government's plan to ban PTI as a political party, terming them as "personal" opinion, Pakistan-based daily, Dawn had reported.
PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari told Dawn that the proposal to ban the now-jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan-led PTI was not discussed at any level in the party. So, whatever the party leaders said in opposition to the idea should be seen as a 'personal opinion', Dawn reported.
Bokhari issued a brief statement disowning the remarks made by Farhatullah Babar, the Islamabad-based publication reported.
Babar had said in a post on X, "Country is deeply polarised, economy shattered, socially & ethnically divided, insecurity at highest, runaway inflation, exploding population & no jobs. Yet powers that be can't think of more than iddat case, allow ISI to invade privacy and enforcedly disappear citizens. Pity"
"Talk of banning a political party or trial of a political leader for treason is rubbish. Unsustainable. Compounding political crisis. US democracy will sustain its current crisis. Pakistani democracy, indeed state itself, is unlikely to sustain a self-imposed crisis. Be warned," he had posted on X.
On July 16, several leaders from other political parties besides PTI, like- PPP, Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, and Jamaat-i-Islami criticized the ban proposal.
The PTI had held a press conference and stated that the move was due to the "embarrassment" faced by the ruling party after the Supreme Court decision granted reserved seats to the PTI, which caused it to win a two-thirds majority in the parliament.
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