ISLAMABAD: The PPP — a key ally of the PML-N-led ruling coalition — came out with an ambiguous new statement on Thursday, sparking speculations about a potential shift in its stance on the issue of a possible move to ban the opposition PTI.

“The PPP stands with the federal government and support[s] cabinet decisions. We are the coalition partners of the government,” PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bokhari posted on his official account on X.

“Anyone from the PPP having different view on some specific subject is their personal view which has no nexus with the party policy,” he said, without elaborating. However, his tweet was being seen in the context of statements, issued by some party leaders, opposing the government’s move to ban the PTI as a political party.

Mr Bokhari had issued a similar statement on Tuesday, where he disowned statements by the likes of Khursheed Shah, Raza Rabbani and Farhatullah Babar. How­ever, on Thursday, he came out with a new stance that reassured the government that the party would support all decisions of the cabinet.

This new position and the vague language used by the PPP leader have many observers and political rivals questioning the party’s true intentions. Talking to Dawn earlier in the week, Mr Bokhari had said that since the proposal to ban PTI had not been discussed at any level within the party, whatever various party leaders had said on the matter should be considered “their personal viewpoint”.

These comments came a day after Information Minister Ataullah Tarar announced the government’s plans to ban the PTI as a political party and initiate action under Article 6 against its leaders, including Imran Khan. Hours after the minister’s presser, a number of leaders belonging to other political parties, including the PPP, had opposed the move and complained they had not been consulted.

Separately, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the government’s move to initiate proceedings against Mr Khan and other PTI leaders under Article 6 of the Constitution, which deals with treason.

According to APP, he said in a statement that the issue could be brought before parliament for a debate. He claimed that by dissolving the National Assembly in the presence of a no-confidence motion, PTI leaders were vulnerable to Article 6 proceedings for subverting the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024