Islamabad | The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s decision to ban jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s embattled party got a major boost on Thursday after the Pakistan Peoples Party, a major coalition partner, announced that it will support all Cabinet decisions.
Information Minister Atta Tarar on Monday made an important announcement about the government’s decision to ban Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, creating a frenzy against the move, with many wondering if the Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) enjoyed the support of its coalition partners on the matter.
Immediately it was not clear if Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is the third largest party in Parliament and a key pillar on which the coalition stands, was reluctant to take a clear line and some of its senior leaders refused to support the government.
PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari finally took to X to clear the air and categorically stated that the party of President Asif Ali Zardari was with the government.
“The Pakistan Peoples Party stands with the federal government and supports the Cabinet decisions as we are the coalition partners of the government,” he said.
In response to leaders who took a different line, Bokhari said: “Anyone from Pakistan Peoples Party having a different view on some specific subject is their personal view which has no nexus with the party policy.”
Though Bokhari stopped short of saying that his party would support the ban, however, since the decision to ban a party is made by the Cabinet and endorsed by the Supreme Court within 15 days, he indirectly made a commitment on behalf of the party to stand by the decision.
The policy statement by the PPP shows that the issue was not off the shelf as yet and it was not just a statement to put pressure on the PTI because the support by the party was crucial.
It also shows that the ruling PML-N was consulting its allies as announced by its leaders that any final move would be made after taking the coalition partners on board.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that the final decision to ban the PTI was not made and any such step would only be decided after consulting all allies.
