PPP opposes banning political parties: Kaira

SAPM says negotiations failed because Imran took an ‘extreme’ position of dissolving assemblies before May 14

LAHORE:

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Sunday the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was not in favour of banning or dismantling a political party because any such move would not help bring democratic stability in the country.

In an interview with a private television channel, Kaira, who belongs to the PPP, said that his party stood on its principle stand against banning the PTI. “If the PML-N [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz] is thinking of banning the PTI, it is their wish,” he said.

The SAPM said that May 9 violence across the country was the result of ‘hate’ being promoted by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, but still, he stressed: “Banning political parties is not the solution to the problem.”

Kaira recalled that the PPP held a discussion with the PTI on early elections despite the reservations of the coalition partners. It was agreed that the assemblies would be dissolved after the budget in July. But the negotiations failed because Imran took an ‘extreme’ position of dissolving the assemblies before May 14.