ISLAMABAD
\nSenator Barrister Ali Zafar has said that even if a ban is placed on the PTI, it is likely to be declared \u201cnull and void within a day\u201d by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as a political party cannot be banned.
\nTalking to the media outside the Supreme Court, Zafar referred to the ban on the Jamaat-i-Islami in the 1960s that was set aside by then-chief justice of Pakistan Alvin Robert Cornelius. \u201cEfforts were made to put a ban on Jamaat-i-Islami long ago. [\u2026] The SC had said that you cannot ban a political party and it is everyone\u2019s right to form a political party,\u201d Zafar said.
\n\u201cAs far as vandalism is concerned, that is an individual act [\u2026] but a political party cannot be banned,\u201d he asserted. \u201cIf such a step is taken, then I believe that this same court will declare it null and void within a day.\u201d
\nHis statement came after a top minister said the federal government was mulling banning the Imran Khan-led party following the violent May 9 riots, in which military installations were also attacked.
\n\u201cThe PTI has attacked the very basis of the state that never happened before. It can\u2019t be tolerated\u201d, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said while addressing a presser in Islamabad. The PTI workers took to the streets after their party chief\u2019s arrest \u2014 on the \u201cBlack Day\u201d as dubbed by the army \u2014 in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.
\nExplaining further, the PTI senator said there are different laws that deal with a party that resorts to violence and incites hate. \u201cIf PTI is banned, then I believe the Supreme Court of Pakistan will strike down that decision within a day,\u201d the PTI senator said.
\nZafar added that \u201cnobody is following\u201d the law in the country as he lamented that despite securing bail, his party\u2019s leaders were rearrested. \u201cThis is lawlessness. We are filing a petition against this and the court will take notice,\u201d he added.
\nSenator Ali Zafar has said vandalism was an individual act and it did not provide basis to ban a political party. He went on to say that the law was not being followed, adding that there was no functional assembly in two provinces. \u201cThe constitution has been derailed,\u201d he added.
\nPTI leaders were arrested soon after courts ordered their release, he said, adding that the PTI would approach the SC against this. Mr Zafar continued by saying that constitution could not be implemented if there were no assemblies.
\n\u201cCourts will lose trust if their orders are not implemented,\u201d he added. Courts annulled thousands of laws since Pakistan came into being, he said, adding that it should not be taken as a rift between courts and the parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Senator Barrister Ali Zafar has said that even if a ban is placed on the PTI, it is likely to be declared \u201cnull and void within a day\u201d by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as a political party cannot be banned. Talking to the media outside the Supreme Court, Zafar referred to the ban […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-333300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n