No other option but to ban PTI: Pak Interior Minister

Islamabad, May 13 Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Saturday that there is no other option but to impose a ban on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following three-day-long violent protests that erupted after the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case, media reports said.

His statement came a day after the PTI chief was granted a blanket relief by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as the authorities were barred from arresting him in any case till May 15, Geo News reported.

"It's important to take a stand against armed groups. There is no other option but to impose a ban on this party [PTI]," the minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the report said.

Sanaullah said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led coalition government would be compelled to take extreme measures to outlaw the opposition party "if it did not change its attitude".

He said the PTI chief's only objective is to spread chaos and anarchy in the country.

Sanaullah also held the Khan-led party's workers and supporters responsible for damaging public properties and storming military installations across the country during the countrywide violent protests.

"The government will bring these ‘gangs' to the book. They [miscreants] will be identified through CCTV footages and rounded up one by one," he added, Geo News reported.