ISLAMABAD: PPP General Secretary on Thursday said the party has decided to “stand by the decisions of the federal cabinet”, days after several senior party members condemned the government’s announcement to ban PTI.
Earlier this week, the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that it had decided to ban the party and seek Article 6 proceedings against its founder Imran Khan, former president Dr. Arif Alvi and former National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.
The move appeared to be an attempt to prevent PTI from becoming the single largest party in NA as the announcement was made just before the relief granted to the party by the Supreme Court in the case of reserved seats and also by the party chief in the Iddat case.
The announcement attracted flak from across the political spectrum, with stakeholders from various parties calling the move “undemocratic”. Several senior PPP leaders also opposed the move, with former senators Raza Rabbani and Farhatullah Babar openly criticizing the idea. On the other hand, PPP stalwart Khursheed Shah said that the party leadership – despite being part of the ruling coalition – did not consider the decision.
However, the PPP later distanced itself from its senior members’ comments, terming them as “personal views” and stressing that the issue was not discussed at any level in the party.
PPP General Secretary Nayyar Hussain Bokhari on Thursday re-clarified the party’s stand and cemented its status as a government ally.
“The People’s Party stands with the government and will support the decision of the federal cabinet,” Bokhari told Dawn.com over phone.
“We are allies of the federal government and even if there was a difference of opinion within the party on a certain issue, it was considered their own opinion and nothing to do with party policy.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that no final decision has been taken yet on the government’s recent announcement to ban PTI, adding that only the leadership and its allies will decide on such a move.
