Pakistan's ex-president Alvi invokes the example of horse to poke fun at minister who announced ban on Khan's party

Islamabad, Jul 15 (PTI) Former Pakistan president Arif Alvi poked fun at Information Minister Atta Tarar after his announcement on Monday of the government's decision to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and launch treason cases against its top leaders, including Alvi.
     Alvi, 74, in a post on X, invoked an anecdote from his meeting with Mushtaq Yusufi, one of the Urdu language's top humorists, to respond to Tarar's declaration that Article 6 will be used against the former president, PTI founder and jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, and former deputy speaker Qasim Suri to launch treason cases against them.
     Alvi wrote in Urdu that while watching television after Tarar's press conference, he was reminded of the late Yousufi who he knew through some friends and would meet him every few months at a gathering in Karachi.
     “Yousufi used to say to his friend Mirza: ‘My dear fellow, you speak like a human, but by God, your emotions are of a horse'," Alvi wrote, adding that Yousufi could have used another animal instead of the horse if he wanted to bestow some wisdom or intelligence on his friend.
     Alvi delicately compared Tarar's emotional outburst at the presser with the power of a horse, which is devoid of any wisdom.
     The Pakistan government on Monday said it has decided to ban his party on charges of illegally receiving foreign funds, involvement in riots and its alleged involvement in "anti-state" activities that will attract treason charges against the jailed former prime minister.
     Announcing the unexpected move, Tarar highlighted the activities of Khan's PTI and its leadership to weaken the sovereignty of the country and harm its integrity at the international level.
     "PTI and Pakistan cannot co-exist," Tarar told a press conference here, saying that the matter would go to the Cabinet and the Supreme Court.
     He said the government has decided to ban the PTI, file a review petition in the reserved seat case, and file cases against the 71-year-old PTI founder, Alvi and Suri for subverting the Constitution.
     He said strict legal action would be taken against a handful of overseas Pakistanis for anti-state activities.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)