ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said he does not support the proposed proscription of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) despite the suspected torching by the opposition party of government installations following the violent arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday, Zardari said he would be the “last person” in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government to endorse such a move, emphasising the need for a completely constitutional and legal procedure if such a ban was indeed to be imposed.
The remarks by the foreign minister came as the government of Shehbaz Sharif said it was planning to consult experts to start the process of declaring the opposition party a “proscribed” outfit.
While responding to a question about the possibility of banning PTI, Zardari said that a decision cannot be made based solely on video evidence that has been presented before te government so far.
The foreign minister also called on supporters of Khan to put an end to their violent protests, saying that the party has “already done what it needed to do.” He urged them to face the cases against them and refrain from “causing any more harm.”
He expressed his desire to create political stability in the country, highlighting the importance of finding a peaceful and lawful solution to the situation at hand.
He also stated that his party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, does not celebrate the arrest of any politician, nor do they distribute sweets. He referred to the protests at Khan’s arrest as a dark moment in history.
Zardari emphasized that his party has always been against the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and has ideologically believed that it should be shut down. He also claimed the PTI kept defending the agency as long as the PPP opposed it.
He noted that from 2008-13, it was part of the Charter of Democracy between PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to shut down the NAB, but Khan started a “save-NAB” campaign.
He lamented that when the PPP asked the then-ruling PML-N to shut down the NAB or reform the law governing it, their requests went unanswered.
The foreign minister commented that all allied parties in the government today have the same stance that the dirty money watchdog should be shut down. He also alleged that when they reformed the NAB law and made amendments, Imran Khan was the first beneficiary.
Regarding the allegations against Khan, Zardari said they are severe. He claimed that when the UK’s National Crime Agency wanted to return Pakistan’s £190 million, then-prime minister Khan “abused his office, deceived the cabinet,” and in a sealed envelope, got it approved from the cabinet to store the amount elsewhere.
He challenged then-cabinet members to reject this claim, asserting that the cabinet gave the money to Malik Riaz Hussain, chairman of Bahria Town, to repay his fine to the Supreme Court.
He claimed that Khan was arrested in accordance with the law and the Constitution in corruption cases. He criticised the violence perpetrated after the arrest as pre-planned and said that they responded with guns, stones, and weapons.
He asserted that there are very few such examples in history where a political party responded to a 14-day remand with terrorism.
He stressed that the PTI has crossed a “red line” and that whoever is involved in these crimes will have to be accountable. He said that it is now the responsibility of the state and institutions to implement the law and Constitution so that no political party, group, or organisation breaks the law in the future.
