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Pakistan to ban Imran Khan’s party, file treason case against ex-PM

The government will also file a legal reference against Khan and former President Arif Alvi for treason charges under the country’s constitution before the Supreme Court, Tarar said.

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Pakistan is planning to ban former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party and move the country’s top court to press treason charges against him, the information minister said on Monday.

The move to ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was based on the “proven” charge of the party receiving foreign funds from sources that are illegal in Pakistan, and rioting by its supporters last year that targeted military installations, Minister Attaullah Tarar said, Reuters reported.

“The federal government will move a case to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf,” he said, adding that the plan will be taken up before the cabinet, which was empowered to take a decision.

The government will also file a legal reference against Khan and former President Arif Alvi for treason charges under the country’s constitution before the Supreme Court, Tarar said.

Khan’s aide Zulfikar Bukhari said the decision was a move towards “soft martial law”. “This is a sign of panic as they have realised the courts can’t be threatened and put under pressure,” he said.

The latest turmoil comes at a time when the country has to make politically unpopular reforms such as raising taxes on farm income to get $7 billion from the IMF.

“A weak government, hobbled by questions about its legitimacy and consumed with desperate attempts to keep Imran Khan from being released will struggle to take the kinds of decisions that are needed to keep the IMF program on track,” Khurram Husain, an economic analyst and journalist.

The Supreme Court had last week ruled that PTI was eligible for more than 20 extra reserved seats in parliament, ramping up pressure on the country’s weak coalition government.

PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 election as independents after it was barred from the polls.

It was not immediately clear what impact the planned ban would have on the court’s decision to grant reserved seats.

Minister Tarar said the government would seek a legal review of the reserved seats issue.

The reasons behind the move to ban Khan’s party included PTI lobbying in Washington to get the U.S. House of Representatives to support a resolution against Pakistan’s elections and writing to the IMF for an election audit before helping the country.

Independent rights group, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said on social media platform X it was “shocked” and called on the government to withdraw its decision.

Jailed since August, Khan was on Saturday acquitted, along with his third wife, on charges that they married unlawfully but he will not be freed after authorities issued new orders to arrest him.

Khan came to power in 2018 and was ousted in 2022 after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military.

Regional

Trump backs down on strikes on Iran’s power network, says US and Tehran holding talks

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait, which ​carries a ⁠fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.

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President Donald Trump backed down on targeting Iran’s power network on Monday, saying the U.S. and ​Iran have held constructive talks and that he would ‌postpone any strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure, Reuters reported.

Trump’s statement came after Iran threatened to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases ​across the Gulf region if the U.S. targets Iran’s ​power network.

The dollar plunged and ​stocks surged following Trump’s post.

The United States and Iran “have had, over ​the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump wrote ​in a post on Truth Social.

“I have instructed the Department ​of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants ‌and ⁠energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.”

On Saturday, Trump warned that Iranian power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to “fully open” ​the Strait of ​Hormuz to ⁠all shipping within 48 hours. Trump set a deadline of around 7:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT) on ​Monday.

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait, which ​carries a ⁠fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, read the report.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war the U.S. and Israel ⁠launched ​on February 28, which has upended markets, ​driven up fuel costs, fuelled global inflation fears and convulsed the postwar Western ​alliance.

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Iran says coastal attack will lead to full Gulf closure and mine-laying

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An attack on Iran’s southern coast and islands will lead to ​Gulf routes being cut with the ‌laying of sea mines, the country’s Defence Council said on Monday according to state media, Reuters reported.

The ​U.S. is considering plans to occupy, opens new tab or ​blockade Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main ⁠oil export hub, to pressure Tehran ​to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ​all shipping, according to Axios.

“Any attempt to attack Iran’s coasts or islands will cause all access routes ​in the Gulf (…) to be mined ​with various types of sea mines, including floating ‌mines ⁠that can be released from the coast,” the statement read.

“In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation ​similar to ​the ⁠Strait of Hormuz for a long time (…) One should not forget ​the failure of more than ​100 ⁠minesweepers in the 1980s in removing a few sea mines.”

The Defence Council recalled that ⁠non-belligerent ​states can only pass through ​the Strait of Hormuz by coordinating passage with Iran.

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Iran says Hormuz open to all but ‘enemy-linked’ ships

The threat of Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has kept most ships from getting through the narrow strait, the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock.

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The Strait of Hormuz remains open to all shipping except vessels linked to “Iran’s enemies”, Iranian media reports published on Sunday quoted Iran’s representative to the U.N. maritime agency as saying.

Ali Mousavi’s comments came from an interview published on Friday by Chinese news agency Xinhua, before U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to target ⁠Iranian power plants if the strait was not “fully open” within 48 hours.

The threat of Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has kept most ships from getting through the narrow strait, the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock.

Mousavi, who is also Iran’s ambassador to the ⁠UK, was also quoted as saying that Tehran would continue to cooperate with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to improve maritime safety and protect seafarers in the Gulf, adding that ships ⁠not belonging to “Iran’s enemies” could pass the strait by coordinating security and safety arrangements with Tehran.

“Diplomacy remains Iran’s priority. However, a complete ⁠cessation of aggression as well as mutual trust and confidence are more important,” Mousavi said, adding that Israeli ⁠and U.S. attacks against Iran were at the “root of the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

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