ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key ally of the ruling coalition, has distanced itself from the statements issued by some party stalwarts opposing the government move to ban the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) as a political party, terming it their “personal” opinion.
On Tuesday after issuing a formal brief statement disowning the remarks of former senator Farhatullah Babar on the matter, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari said since the proposal of banning the PTI had not been discussed at any level in the party, whatever the party leaders had stated, should be taken as “their personal viewpoint”.
Mr Bokhari’s comments came a day after Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tarar in a news conference announced that the government had decided to ban the PTI as a political party and initiate trial of its leaders under Article 6. Hours after the information minister’s presser, a number of leaders belonging to other political parties, including the PPP, opposing the move complained they had not been consulted by the ruling PML-N on the matter.
PPP’s veteran MNA from Sukkur Syed Khursheed Shah told he heard the government decision as others did. “We should do politics only because such decisions don’t address issues,” he asserted before clarifying that he would stand along with his party and its policy on the matter.
