Pakistan’s government plans to ban the party of the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials said on Monday, a decision expected to exacerbate the political turmoil that has consumed the country for the past two years.
The country’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the government was moving to outlaw Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., after actions that had posed “a direct threat to the fabric of our nation.”But analysts said the decision — which few expect to be upheld in court — reflected growing desperation by the Pakistani government.
It has struggled to assert its authority after an election this year in which the country’s powerful military was accused of rigging dozens of races against the broadly popular P.T.I.
“If pushed through, it will achieve nothing more than deeper polarization and the strong likelihood of political chaos and violence,” Asad Iqbal Butt, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said in a statement.
Persons:
Imran Khan, Attaullah Tarar, —, ” Asad Iqbal Butt
Organizations:
Human Rights
Locations:
Pakistan