Besides the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, leaders of other parties criticized the decision. (File)
Washington:
The US expressed “concern” about the Pakistani government’s decision to ban the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and emphasized that Washington would continue to “monitor these decisions and other court rulings”.
In its latest attempt to suppress jailed former Prime Minister Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Monday that it has decided to ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and seek Article 6 proceedings against Imran Khan, 71, and former president Arif Alvi, 78, among others.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party-led government also said Imran Khan’s party illegally received foreign funds, engaged in riots as well as “anti-state” activities.
U.S. Department spokesman Matthew Miller, during Monday’s daily briefing, said, “Our understanding is that this is the beginning of what will be a complex policy process.” “Certainly banning a political concern is something – or a political party is something that would be of great concern to us,” Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington in response to questions.
Matthew Miller said the US supports “the peaceful defense of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights and freedom of expression.”
He said the U.S. supports democratic processes such as the rule of law and equal justice under the law, adding that Washington will continue to “monitor these decisions and other court rulings.”
Matthew Miller also discussed political violence, given the recent assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and said the US abhors “political violence in any country, including Pakistan, and has spoken out against and condemned it.”
Matthew Miller was responding to a question comparing the recent assassination attempt on Trump with a similar attack on jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in November 2022.
“We support the rule of law in Pakistan and in all countries of the world and we want to see democratic principles and fundamental human rights and people’s democratic rights respected,” he added.
The move to ban Imran Khan’s party appeared to be an attempt by the government to prevent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from becoming the largest party in the national assembly, as the announcement was made soon after the relief given to the party by the Supreme Court . in the case of reserved seats, as well as to the party chief in the Iddat case.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf last week received a major boost through the Supreme Court ruling that declared them eligible for reserved seats, depriving the ruling coalition of a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
The move provoked a strong reaction from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf which, in return, also demanded the invocation of Article 6 of the Constitution against those who took unconstitutional measures despite the existence of a Constitution in the country.
Apart from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, leaders of other parties including the Pakistan People’s Party, National Awami Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Jamaat-i-Islami criticized the decision.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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