Although the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the largest party in Pakistan in the parliamentary elections on 8 February, the government, supported by a coalition of eight parties, wants to dismantle it. However, the final decision lies with the Supreme Court, which has so far defended former Prime Minister Khan and ordered his release from prison. In the meantime, Islamabad has managed to obtain a new loan to avoid financial collapse.
Islamabad (/Agencies) – Pakistan’s government wants to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party that governed the country from 2018 to 2022 and from which former Prime Minister Imran Khan comes, who has been in prison for about a year. Islamabad also intends to put the party’s leadership in the dock, including Khan himself, under Article 6 of the Constitution on high treason, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said yesterday.
It is no coincidence that the news broke yesterday: on Friday the Supreme Court overturned an Election Commission decision that also excluded PTI candidates from seats reserved for women and minorities. On the same day, Imran Khan and his third wife were also acquitted of the charge of having entered into an illegal marriage. But the party leader will remain in prison due to new and ongoing charges, including, precisely, high treason. All previous sentences imposed on Khan have also been quashed or suspended, and earlier this month a UN panel of experts also noted that Imran Khan’s continued detention “has no legal basis and is apparently aimed at preventing him from running for political office.”
In other words, it is a showdown between the executive and the judiciary, which began after the parliamentary elections of 8 February. The members of the PTI, forced to stand as independent candidates, had achieved a landslide victory. But (thanks to the support of the army) the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) of Shehbaz Sharif, backed by a coalition of eight parties, continues to hold the reins of power.
Minister Tarar said that the government will seek to ban the PTI for receiving funding from abroad. But the May 9, 2023 riots by the party’s supporters (who revolted against the arrest of Imran Khan and attacked some government buildings and military bases) have also been cited as a reason for disbanding the party. “We intend to impose a ban on the PTI and we believe that Article 17 of the Constitution gives the government the right to ban political parties and the matter will be referred to the Supreme Court,” Tarar added. According to Article 17, a party can be dissolved if it undermines the integrity or sovereignty of Pakistan, but the final decision rests with the court.
The government will also file charges against Imran Khan, former President Arif Alvi and former Speaker Qasim Suri – all PTI members – for dissolving the Houses in April 2022 despite the no-confidence motion filed against Khan in Parliament. The same no-confidence motion that led to his ouster from power.
PTI spokespersons expressed their total opposition to the executive’s decisions: “No patriot can think of banning the largest and most popular party in the country, because doing so would be tantamount to shaking the foundations of Pakistan and sending the country into a civil war,” the party said on its social media channels.
Legal experts have said that any decision will now have to be referred to the Supreme Court. So far, the latter has sided with the former prime minister and it is therefore difficult to predict how events might turn out.
In the meantime, however, Pakistan has secured a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the next three years. “The program aims to capitalize on the hard-won macroeconomic stability that continues to be achieved by strengthening public finances, reducing inflation, rebuilding external reserves, and removing economic distortions to stimulate private sector growth,” said Nathan Porter, head of the IMF delegation in Pakistan.
Despite the political turmoil, the government submitted its first budget to parliament last month, promising a 25% increase in public sector salaries and setting an ambitious fiscal target of 13 trillion rupees ($44 billion). This is 40% more than now, the finance minister said. The number of taxpayers will also be expanded, the government said. In fact, out of a population of 235 million, only about 5 million pay taxes. Pakistan was on the verge of financial default in 2023 due to non-payment of its foreign debt.
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