ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday said the federal government was trying to ban the party “out of desperation” as the Supreme Court ruled in its favor in the reserved seats case.
Senator Ali Zafar, chairman of the PTI, said his party would not allow the decision to be implemented “not even for a second” as it was against the laws of the land.
Zafar’s comments were in response to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s announcement that the government had decided to ban PTI and make references to the betrayal of party founder Imran Khan and former president Arif Alvi.
“Regarding their announcement to ban PTI, I believe they live in a world that exists outside the law. There is no provision in the law that allows the government to resort to such a step.”
The senator went on to say, “That statement alone disqualifies him [Tarar] and even if he thinks such an impossible thing, then the courts are there and so are we.
Taunting the information minister, Zafar said he thought the minister was speaking out of “desperation” after the reserved seat verdict.
“This is an illegal decision.
The decision not only to ban the party but to file treason charges against the leaders was based on a number of factors, including the proven allegation that Khan’s PTI received foreign funding from sources that are illegal in Pakistan, as well as the party’s unrest. leadership and supporters last year that targeted military installations, Minister Tarar said.
But Zafar believes that even in this context, the minister, who is also a lawyer, has no understanding of the law.
“He (Tarar) also talked about filing Article 6. I think he didn’t read the law. That’s talking about high treason. If you break the law, it doesn’t qualify you for Article 6.”
“Everybody will face cases of treason if the government decides to take such a step. It saddens me that the government is talking about these things. Their case will be so baseless that they will not be able to defend it.”
Regarding the decision to file a review motion against the SC verdict on reserved seats, he said that it is the constitutional right of the government to file a review motion if they have reasons to do so.
