Experts say ban on Imran Khan’s party ‘unlikely’ to be approved by Pakistan top court

Supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party leader Imran Khan, celebrate after a court verdict overturned his illegal marriage conviction, outside the court building in Islamabad on July 13, 2024. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 16 July 2024
Follow

Experts say ban on Imran Khan’s party ‘unlikely’ to be approved by Pakistan top court

  • Article 17 of constitution says government has to refer decision to ban a party to Supreme Court for final decision
  • Experts say ban announcement latest effort by a weak governing coalition to squash Khan’s political popularity

ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s plans to push for a ban on former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was “unlikely” to be sanctioned by the Supreme Court and could be seen as a latest attempt to dent the popularity of the ex-premier and his party, political observers said this week.

Pakistan’s federal government announced on Monday it was planning to ban Khan’s political party and move the country’s Supreme Court to press high treason charges against him. The decision to ban the PTI was based on what Information Minister Ataullah Tara said was the “proven” charge of the party receiving foreign funding, which is illegal in Pakistan, rioting by its supporters last year that targeted military properties and because Khan had leaked state secrets by disclosing the contents of a classified diplomatic cable for political gains in what has come to be popularly called the cipher case. 

Under Article 17 of the Pakistani constitution, “should the Federal Government declare any political party as acting against these interests, it must refer the matter to the Supreme Court within fifteen days for a final decision.”

Several analysts Arab News spoke to agreed that it was unlikely that the decision to ban the PTI would be upheld in court and reflected an attempt by the federal government to assert its authority after a general election marred by accusations of rigging against the broadly popular PTI. The party won more seats than any other in the election despite what it says is a crackdown on its candidates and supporters and has become ever-more popular since Khan was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022.

“This move will probably backfire as it is the Supreme Court that will finally decide … and if the court does not see robust, solid evidence in support of declaring it unlawful, which I do not think they have, then probably the government will not succeed,” Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) think tank, told Arab News.

“I do not think this will materially affect the PTI as long as there are people supporting the party, as long as there are people who love the party, who stand beside it.”

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former close Khan aide, agreed. 

“The move is highly unlikely to succeed as under Article 17, government recommendations have to be approved by the SC and the likelihood of its approval is almost null,” he said. 

“BAD OPTICS”

The ban announcement comes in the wake of the PTI winning a number of important legal battles. Among four cases in which Khan was convicted and has been jailed since August last year, two have been suspended by courts since and he has been acquitted in the others, though new cases have since been brought against him. Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says all cases against him are motivated to keep him out of politics and behind bars.

Last week, the PTI also won a major victory when the Supreme Court declared that the party was eligible for over 20 extra reserved seats in parliament, which has stripped the governing coalition, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of its two-thirds majority in parliament, weakening an already fragile government that is widely believed to lack mass popular support.

All PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls on the technical grounds that it did not hold genuine intra-party polls, which is a legal requirement. Subsequently, they won the most seats in the national election, 93, but the election commission said independents were ineligible for their share of 70 reserved seats — 60 for women, 10 for non-Muslims — distributed among political parties in proportion to the number of seats they win in general polls. This completes the National Assembly’s total strength of 336 seats. 

The reserved seats were then distributed among other parties, mostly those in the ruling coalition, a decision Khan’s party appealed. On Friday the Supreme Court ruled that the PTI was indeed a political party for the purposes of the election and entitled to reserved seats. The court has now given the PTI 15 days, starting July 12, to submit its list of candidates entitled to the reserved seats and asked independent candidates to formally declare their allegiance to the PTI. 

Experts said the announcement of the ban could also be seen as the government’s way to discourage successful independent candidates from rejoining Khan’s party. 

“The government may be hoping that because of this announcement, some of the PTI members who currently have to give their affidavit, whether they will join the PTI or not — 41 of them in the National Assembly and about 60 in the Provincial Assemblies — they will get the message that if the party is declared unlawful by the Supreme Court, then they will also stand disqualified,” Mehboob from PILDAT explained, referring to a law that parliamentarians from a particular party stand disqualified if their party is banned. 

Mazhar Abbas, a senior journalist and longtime observer of Pakistani politics, was doubtful a ban on the popular political party could hold. 

“In any adverse situation, the PTI can come out with a new name with a more aggressive posture,” he said.

Chaudhry, the former Khan aide, also cautioned that a ban would weaken the government further as the public, already stirred up over what they saw as a rigged election and trumped-up cases against Khan, would see the ban a “an attempt to sabotage democracy and against the constitution.”

Political analyst Zoya Tariq warned a ban on the PTI or any other political party would have “serious repercussions” for the country.

“This is bad optics and will set a very wrong precedent as all political decisions in a democratic country should be made by the people,” she told Arab News. “It is the moral duty of the current government to take action to maintain stability in the country.”

“This [ban announcement] has caused no worry to PTI,” PTI spokesman Zulfi Bukhari said in a video message to reporters. “It has only demonstrated what we have been trying to say earlier that there is absolute fascism in Pakistan, there is an undeclared martial law in Pakistan.”
 


Pakistani security forces kill eight militants in restive northwest

Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Pakistani security forces kill eight militants in restive northwest

  • Army says six militants also injured during operation in Miran Shah area of North Waziristan
  • South Asian nation blames surge in militancy on TTP fighters operating out of Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed eight militants while six others sustained injuries during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted in the Miran Shah area of North Waziristan district.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed several attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who have targeted security forces’ convoys and check posts, besides killing and kidnapping officials and civilians in recent months.
“Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Miran Shah, North Waziristan District on the reported presence of khwarij [militants],” the ISPR said.
“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij’s location, as a result of which, eight khwarij were sent to hell, while six khwarij got injured.”
A “sanitization operation” was also conducted in the area to eliminate any other militants, it added.
Earlier this month on Nov. 10, Pakistani security forces killed four militants in two separate encounters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Prior to that, four Pakistani soldiers and five militants lost their lives in a gunbattle in South Waziristan’s Karama area.
The TTP leadership is said to be based in neighboring Afghanistan, affecting the ties between Kabul and Islamabad since the Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of “facilitating” cross-border militant attacks.
Afghanistan denies the allegation and has urged Pakistan to resolve its security challenges internally.
 


Maxwell’s power-hitting and Australia pace flatten Pakistan in a rain-shortened T20

Updated 8 min 57 sec ago
Follow

Maxwell’s power-hitting and Australia pace flatten Pakistan in a rain-shortened T20

  • Match started after a three-hour delay and was shortened to seven over per side
  • Pakistan made 64-9 in response to Australia’s 93-4, losing five wicket in first 15 balls

BRISBANE: Glenn Maxwell’s robust 43 off 19 balls helped Australia thump Pakistan by 29 runs in a rain-shortened first Twenty20 on Thursday.
After a nearly three-hour delay due to lightning and rain, the match was shortened to seven overs per side.
Maxwell powered Australia to 93-4 and Pakistan reached only 64-9 after slumping to 16-5 inside the first 15 balls.
Nathan Ellis (3-9) and Xavier Bartlett (3-13) ran through the top order before No. 8 batter Abbas Afridi’s unbeaten 20.
“Certainly had a lot of fun out there,” Maxwell said. “We thought we had enough on the board … the bowlers did a great job. There was a few of us who had packed our bags expecting the game to be called off, so it was a mad rush to get ready.”
Maxwell followed scores of 0, 16, 0 in the preceding one-day international series won by Pakistan 2-1 by smacking three sixes and five boundaries. He played some extravagant lap shots to third man against the pace of Haris Rauf (1-21) and Naseem Shah (1-37).
Maxwell fell in the penultimate over when he hooked Abbas Afridi (2-9) to backward square leg but Marcus Stoinis provided a final flourish with an unbeaten 21 off seven balls. Stoinis smashed 20 runs in Shah’s last over with two fours and six.
None of the top six Pakistan batters reached double figures.
Sahibzada Farhan hit Spencer Johnson for two successive boundaries off the first two balls he faced before mistiming a pull shot off the fourth ball and holing out at midwicket.
Mohammad Rizwan, in his first match as the Pakistan skipper, fell to the first ball when he top-edged Bartlett to point. Usman Khan was caught at third man in the same over.
Ellis struck twice in his first over when Babar Azam was caught in the deep and Jake Fraser-McGurk snapped his third catch as Irfan Khan also offered a tame catch at deep midwicket.
Pakistan was 24-6 in the fourth over when Salman Ali Agha scored only 4 in his debut T20, guiding a sharp, short Bartlett delivery to Australia first-time captain Josh Inglis on the run.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa clean-bowled Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah off successive balls in the last over to complete the rout.
“It was difficult to keep things normal in a seven-over game,” Rizwan said. “Got to give credit to Maxy, his style worked really well.”
The second T20 is in Sydney on Saturday, and the last in Hobart on Monday.
 


ICC Champions Trophy promo confirms Pakistan as host

Updated 14 min 33 sec ago
Follow

ICC Champions Trophy promo confirms Pakistan as host

  • The video comes days after the ICC informed Pakistan that India had declined to play in the country
  • Pakistan has said it is not interested in a hybrid hosting model adopted during last year’s Asia Cup

ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council’s promotional video for the Champions Trophy 2025 has portrayed Pakistan as the tournament host, with the global governing body for cricket promising a “thrilling competition” in a statement released on Wednesday.
The video comes just days after the ICC informed Pakistan that India had declined to play tournament matches in the country, prompting Pakistani authorities to rule out the hybrid hosting model adopted last year for the Asia Cup, where India played all its matches in Sri Lanka.
Political tensions between the two countries have led the Indian team to avoid traveling to Pakistan since 2008, with both sides only competing in multination tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
The ICC has not directly commented on the situation, though the promotional video clearly showed visuals communicating that the tournament will be arranged in Pakistan.
It promo displayed an unconventional logo, which the ICC said was designed to be “bold, loud, confident, and fun,” saying the visual identity was digital-first while calling it a dynamic, typographic logo.
“The two weeks of thrilling competition the event is renowned for is reflected in the bold and loud edge to the brand,” ICC Chief Commercial Officer Anurag Dahiya said in a statement. “The new elements are accompanied by the distinctive white jackets which nod to the history of the Champions Trophy and its unique, global appeal.”
The men’s Champions Trophy is set to return in 2025 after about eight years, with Pakistan clinching the title in the 2017 final against India.
The tournament was last held in England.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi that are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games scheduled to be held between February 19 and March 9.
 


Explosion in house kills 2 children in former stronghold of Pakistani Taliban

Updated 14 November 2024
Follow

Explosion in house kills 2 children in former stronghold of Pakistani Taliban

  • Police investigating what caused the blast including whether someone was handling explosives to make bombs
  • Blast happened in Mir Ali where Pakistani Taliban often target security forces with suicide bombings 

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A powerful explosion ripped through a house in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban on Thursday, killing at least two children and wounding some others, police said.

Police were still investigating what caused the blast including whether someone was handling explosives to make bombs, local police chief Irfan Khan said.

The blast happened in Mir Ali, a city in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan and where Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents often target security forces with suicide bombings and other violence.

Elsewhere in the province Thursday, a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off an explosive device prematurely on a deserted road in Charsadda district, killing himself but harming no one else, police said.

Local police official Masood Khan said the intended target was unclear and bomb disposal experts and police were still investigating whether the man was wearing the explosives or they were attached to his motorcycle.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are separate from the Afghan Taliban but have been emboldened by the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.


‘Media speculation,’ foreign office says on Beijing wanting own security staff in Pakistan

Updated 14 November 2024
Follow

‘Media speculation,’ foreign office says on Beijing wanting own security staff in Pakistan

  • Reuters reported this week Beijing and Islamabad in talks to set up a joint security management system
  • Beijing has been angered by recent attacks on Chinese nationals, has publicly raised security concerns 

ISLAMABAD: The foreign office on Thursday rejected as “media speculation” reports by a foreign news agency that Beijing is pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working in the South Asian nation.

Reuters, citing five Pakistani security and government sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported this week that a string of recent attacks on Chinese nationals had angered Beijing and pushed Pakistan to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system. 

Last month’s airport bombing in the southern port city that killed two Chinese engineers returning to work on a project after a holiday in Thailand was the latest attack on Beijing’s interests in Pakistan.

“Let’s not get carried away with speculation,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly news briefing in Islamabad when questioned about the Reuters report. 

“I would not like to respond to media speculations that are based on unreliable sources and motivated by an agenda to create confusion about the nature of Pakistan-China relationship.”

She added that Pakistan had raised a security force to protect Chinese nationals and projects, particularly those operating under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) umbrella, and “this security apparatus continues to provide security to Chinese CPEC projects inside Pakistan.”

Longtime Pakistan ally China has thousands of nationals working on projects grouped under the CPEC, a $65-billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to expand China’s global reach by road, rail and sea.

The Reuters report said there was now a consensus on setting up a joint security management system, and that Pakistan was amenable to Chinese officials sitting in on security meetings and coordination but there was no agreement as yet on their participating in security arrangements on the ground.

One official said Pakistan had asked China for help in improving its intelligence and surveillance capabilities instead of direct involvement.

“We advise the media to ascertain the motivation of individuals who are feeding them this story,” Baloch said. 

“Pakistan and China have a robust dialogue and cooperation on a range of issues including counterterrorism and security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan … We will continue to work with our Chinese brothers for the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan.”

Baloch said as close allies, Pakistan and China had the resolve and capability to foil “any attempts to harm Pakistan-China relations, including by spreading stories about the nature of this relationship.”