Umair Jamal
The Pakistani government has announced that it plans to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and to file sedition charges against him and former President Arif Alvi, who is seen to be close to Khan.
The controversial decision, which has invited criticism and raised concerns about its implications for the country’s political stability, seems to have been prompted by the PTI’s continuing confrontation with the state institutions, particularly the powerful military establishment. The PTI’s anti-military rhetoric has seen it targeting even the top military leadership directly through social media platforms. Such attacks have intensified since the February 2024 general elections.
PTI appears to be increasingly frustrated as it accuses state institutions of interfering with their mandate during the elections. The leadership of PTI claims that they secured a two-thirds majority in the February elections, but it was later allegedly snatched from them.
Support from the judiciary has arguably emboldened the PTI. The courts have offered Khan and his party relief in numerous cases filed by the previous and the current government. The judiciary has even gone so far as to give the impression of “rewriting the constitution” to benefit the PTI. In a recent court filing, the Sunni Ithad Council, a PTI ally, sought reserved seats for women and minorities in national and provincial assemblies, which was previously denied by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the reserved seats.
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