Pakistan mulls banning PTI

Pakistan is considering banning former prime minister Imran Khan's party for attacking the state, the defence minister said yesterday, a decision likely to enrage his supporters and exacerbate his confrontation with the military establishment.

The former cricket star is embroiled in the latest, critical phase of a decades old rivalry between civilian politicians and the powerful military, which has ruled directly or overseen governments throughout Pakistan's history.

The face-off has brought widespread protests by Khan's supporters, raising new fears about the stability of the nuclear-armed country as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters that Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had attacked the "very basis of state", which could not be tolerated.

"It is under consideration to ban PTI," he said, adding the parliament would have to give final approval for a government decision to ban the party.

The minister referred to Khan's protesting supporters who this month attacked military installations, including army headquarters, and government buildings.

PTI party lawyer Ali Zafar said any such move would be challenged in court. He said an entire party cannot be blamed for acts committed by individuals.

Meanwhile, a key aide of Khan resigned from his party yesterday. Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet that he had decided to take a break from politics and resigned from PTI.

In a press conference yesterday, Khan said that he is ready to constitute a committee for talks with "anyone who is in power today" to negotiate a way out of the current situation. He also called on the apex court judges to save the country's democracy.

Khan became prime minister in 2018 with the tacit support of the military, though both sides denied it at the time. The military saw Khan, with his conservative, nationalist agenda, as likely to ensure the protection of its interests.

But Khan later fell out with the generals after being seen as having tried to interfere in key promotions in the security sphere, and he was ousted as prime minister after losing a confidence vote in 2022.

Khan, 70, has since then been campaigning for a snap general election, rallying supporters across the country, but the prime minister who replaced him, Shahbaz Sharif, has rejected the call for an election before one is due late this year.

Khan is also facing corruption charges that he has dismissed as being cooked in a bid to banish him from politics. He was detained on May 9 in connection with the charges, sparking the protests by his supporters and their attacks on the military facilities.

Khan was later freed on bail. Anti-graft agency investigators questioned him for about three hours on Tuesday.