On Monday, the Supreme Court registrar’s office rejected a petition filed by Aun Chaudhry, Additional Secretary General of the Istihkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), calling for a ban on the former ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Chaudhry, previously a close associate of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, had voiced support for Jahangir Khan Tareen and stepped down as a special adviser to the Punjab chief minister in August 2021 amid a high-profile sugar scandal.
The registrar’s office objected to the petition for not meeting the criteria of Article 184(3) of the Constitution. It indicated that the request failed to elucidate how the ban under Article 184(3) and its association with the public interest. Furthermore, it noted that Chaudhry, also the adviser to the prime minister on sports and tourism, did not consult the appropriate forum before filing the petition. Additionally, the petition violated Article 248 of the Constitution, including the prime minister and the defence minister as parties.
The call for a PTI ban followed violent protests sparked by Khan’s arrest on May 9 in the Al-Qadir Trust case, resulting in several casualties and thousands of PTI workers arrested. These events led Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz to consider banning PTI. The military deemed May 9 a “Black Day” and decided to prosecute the protestors under the Army Act.
. The request was turned down due to constitutional inconsistencies and an absence of prior consultation with the relevant forum.){kind=link}