Pak Cabinet Approves Committee On Treason Charges Against Imran Khan

The Pakistan government on Friday set up a committee to decide if a case of high treason should be launched against former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chief Imran Khan.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told media that the decision to set up the committee was taken by the Cabinet to deliberate whether the PTI leadership were guilty of violation of the Article 6 of the Constitution.

According to Article 6 any person who "abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason". The crime is punishable with death.

The development comes after the Supreme Court released a detailed judgement explaining the reasons why it dismissed former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri's controversial ruling of April 3 on the no-trust move against then-prime minister Khan.

"Whether these acts attract Article 6 of the Constitution (high treason) is also left open to be determined by the parliamentarians to ponder should they leave open the doors for such unconstitutional acts or take suitable measures to stop such like mess in future,” Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel said in an additional note in the judgement.

Suri had ruled that the no-confidence motion was linked with a "foreign conspiracy" to topple the PTI government and hence was not maintainable. Minutes later, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on advice of then prime minister Khan.

Suri's ruling was later suspended by the top court, which ordered that voting should be held on the motion, leading to the ouster of Khan.

Information Minister Aurangzeb said the committee will work under the leadership of law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and present its suggestions in the next cabinet meeting.

"The judgement of the Supreme Court proved that the previous government passed unconstitutional orders," she said.