ISLAMABAD: Several political forces of Pakistan strongly condemned the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) coalition government’s decision to impose ban on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and termed it against all the norms of democracy.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and human rights activist Farhatullah Babar Monday said in his tweet, “the talk of banning a political party or trial of a political leader for treason was rubbish and “unsustainable”.

Another PPP senior leader and former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani in his statement said that the talk of banning a political party by the government is against all the norms of democracy. He said that the government should refrain from taking such a step.

He said that the country is already facing grave economic and political instability such a step will add political chaos and bog down the economy. He said that the economic and political chaos can be a recipe for destabilising the entire democratic system, which if happens, will have effect on the federation, given the already sharp internal fault lines.

Raza Rabbani said that the step of banning a political party in Pakistan’s history has always been unsuccessful and been thrown in the dustbin of history.

Terming the government’s move to ban the PTI “childish and injudicious”, the Awami National Party (ANP) said the path of the political parties could not be choked with restrictions and hurdles, stressing: “Restrictions on the political parties and political process are not acceptable at any cost.”

“Despite the political difference with the PTI, we believe the government’s move would be a folly,” the ANP central spokesman said while underscoring the need to identify people who kick up political instability and economic crunch in the country.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah raised multiple questions: “Can the decision bring about political and economic stability in the country? Will the decision cause the confrontation to spiral or scale down? What benefit will this decision offer to the public and the country? Does the government of Form 47 have the right to make such decisions?”

He said that the parties that faced restrictions in the past still face them today. “Those who slapped such restrictions are nowhere to be seen,’’ he said.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman termed the government’s decision an “example of fascism”.

In his tweet, he said, “There is no room for these decisions in democratic societies. This country has a Constitution and courts. Only parties that believe in authoritarian thinking can take such tyrannical decisions.”

Former PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar in his tweet said, “Noted that the government was under pressure, adding that the move to ban the PTI was akin to following the legacy of dictators. Insulting the public’s mandate should now stop.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024