PTI facing ban? Faisal Vawda claims party's future in jeopardy after violent protest

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is facing mounting pressure following the abrupt end of its recent three-day protest in Islamabad with political figures speculating about the party’s future and the possibility of a ban. 

Senator Faisal Vawda claimed that PTI is "going to be banned," citing the party's controversial role in the May 9 riots and ongoing political instability.

Vawda's comments, made during an interview on a local news channel, followed the violent clashes between PTI protesters and security forces in Islamabad, where teargas and other crowd-control methods were used to disperse the crowd. 

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has taken a more aggressive stance with the party announcing plans to table a resolution in the Balochistan Assembly calling for a ban on PTI. 

The resolution comes in the wake of increasing calls from within the government to hold PTI accountable for the violence of May 9, a day that saw widespread protests and attacks on state institutions.

A former PTI member himself, Senator Vawda did not mince words when discussing the current leadership of PTI.

He accused the party’s leadership of being absent from the protest, stating that figures like Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan were nowhere to be seen, and PTI leaders failed to take responsibility for the chaos. 

He targeted Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan’s wife, accusing her of playing a central role in PTI's current predicament.

"Bushra Bibi created trouble for the party," he stated, referring to her insistence on holding the protest at D-Chowk despite the government’s offer to relocate the demonstration to a less contentious area, Sangjani. 

The senator alleged that PTI’s failure to adjust the protest’s location contributed to the situation spiralling out of control.

Vawda also hinted that PTI's leadership has made preparations to keep Imran Khan in jail, suggesting that the party's future is being shaped by those closest to him, with Bushra Bibi at the helm.

Earlier this year, the government had already hinted at a possible ban on PTI due to its involvement in the May 9 unrest, during which military installations were attacked, and the party allegedly sought to undermine Pakistan's economic deals, particularly with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).