Ban on PTI: Arif Alvi, in his humourous literary response, likens PML-N's Tarar to 'horse'

Former president Arif Alvi on Monday responded to the government's plans of imposing a ban on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and filing references against him and ex-prime minister Imran Khan under Article 6 — in a humourous literary way.

In a social media post, Alvi compared Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar's presser to a situation in a witty remark by Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi, one of the Urdu language's top humorists, in which he calls one of his friends a "horse".

Alvi's Urdu post roughly translates as: "While watching television, especially after today's press conference, I was greatly reminded of the late Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi. Due to some friends, I had the honour of knowing him and would meet him every few months at a khichdi gathering in Karachi.

He used to say to his friend Mirza: My dear fellow, you speak like a human, but by God, your emotions are like those of a horse.

As there is no mention of intelligence in this, otherwise, he could have compared him to another animal. Allah knows best."

Tarar, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, said that the government would seek to ban the political party.

"The federal government will move a case to ban the PTI," Tarar told reporters, saying the case would be taken to the Supreme Court.

"We believe that there is credible evidence that the PTI should be banned," he said, citing allegations against Khan, including leaking state secrets and inciting riots.

"We will vigorously defend this case and spare no effort to contest it," he added.

Alvi in his post, which is a quip by Yousufi, draws a parallel between Mirza's [an allusion to Tarar] emotions and those of a horse highlighting a general human proclivity to be ruled by emotions rather than reason. 

Horses, which are high-spirited mighty animals, act on instinct and strong emotions and their actions are highly unpredictable. 

This comparison pokes fun at how people can similarly be driven by their emotions.

A spokesperson for the PTI told AFP that the party "will not tolerate" the government’s effort to ban it.

"The PTI has become stronger than before. We will face it," Raoof Hasan said.

In a landmark ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court granted the PTI more parliamentary seats, after party members were forced to run as independents in the February 8 election.

Khan’s conviction for illegal marriage — which carried a seven-year sentence — was then overturned by an Islamabad court on Saturday but he remains jailed over other cases.

A UN panel of experts found this month that Khan’s detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office".

The "prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose," it said, calling for his immediate release after nearly a year in jail.