IHC terms ban on JUI-F's Ansarul Islam 'infructuous'.

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday remarked that the recent decision of the federal government to ban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (Fazl) subordinate organisation Ansarul Islam is 'infructuous'.

While hearing a petition challenging Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's decision, a single-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah summoned the interior ministry to explain how the federal government could ban an organisation that even does not exist on paper.

JUI-F counsel Kamran Murtaza informed the court that while JUI-F is registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as a political party, Ansarul Islam is not a 'private militia' as stated by the government but a subordinate of JUI-F which has been operating since the era of Quaid-e-Azam.

The chief justice said if the Ansarul Islam workers are members of a political party then the notification to ban them is infructuous. When...