Big blow to jailed Imran Khan as Pakistan govt set to ban ex-PM’s party PTI

“The government has decided that the federal government will move a case to ban the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf),” Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar was quoted by AFP as saying.

“We believe that there is credible evidence that PTI should be banned,” the minister added.

Khan has been jailed for nearly a year over a slew of court cases he says were orchestrated to prevent his return to power in the February national elections.

Earlier in the day, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan was ‘arrested’ by Lahore Police in connection with cases against him over May 9 riots last year after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) secured his eight-day remand in the Toshakhana case.

Last week, Lahore’s ATC dismissed a pre-arrest bail to the PTI chief in three cases of May 9 riots and allowed police his custody for interrogation. He was booked on the charges of abetment in the attack on Lahore Corps Commander House, known as Jinnah House, Askari Tower and Shadman police station on May 9 last year.

Shehbaz Sharif government’s move comes days after the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared PTI eligible for a share of reserved seats in the national provincial assemblies. 

Following the apex court ruling, the PTI has become the largest party in the National Assembly with 109 seats.

Imran Khan, who was ousted from power in 2022, he been continuously attacking the all-powerful Pakistan Army leadership and its supporters. The 1992 World Cup-winning cricket captain faces several cases launched against him.  

Last Saturday, an Islamabad court acquitted him and his wife Bushra Bibi in the  “iddat case,” known as the un-Islamic nikah case. The couple had been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined five lakh Pakistani rupees each following a challenge by Bushra’s ex-husband, Khawar Maneka.

(With agency inputs)