Pakistan's top civil and military leadership Thursday strongly condemned the unprecedented violence by the supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9 last year and vowed not to allow its "executors" to get away with their acts which were aimed at establishing an "individual's dictatorship".
On May 9 last year, violent protests erupted after the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court. His supporters vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander house), Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob.
On the first anniversary of the May 9 riots, Army chief Gen Asim Munir ruled out any compromise with those responsible for the attacks at the military installations.
Addressing the Garrison officers and soldiers at Corps Headquarters in Lahore, Gen Munir underscored that inimical forces and their abettors have unleashed digital terrorism and are trying hard to create division between Armed Forces and people of Pakistan through peddling lies, fake news and propaganda. However, the designs of all these forces will be defeated with the support of the nation, he added.
He said that May 9 will undoubtedly remain a "black day" in the history of Pakistan when deliberately indoctrinated and insidiously guided miscreants attacked the symbols of the state and national unity, disgracefully desecrating the martyr monuments.
The army chief deplored that “now the same plotters were brazenly and shamelessly trying to twist the narrative and implicate the state in this despicable endeavour. This mindset is precisely the reason why there can be no compromise or deal with the planners and architects of this dark chapter in our history."
Gen Munir said the real leaders who present themselves as victims now will be held accountable for their actions, particularly when there is irrefutable evidence of their involvement and complicity in organised violence and sabotage.
"Planners, abettors, facilitators and culprits of 9th May will be brought to justice according to the law of the land," he said.
Separately, the Pakistan Army issued a statement saying its entire leadership “strongly condemn the criminal acts perpetrated on 9th May 2023”.
Terming May 9 (Black Day) as one of the "darkest days in our national history", the Inter-Services Public Relations - the media wing of the army - said that "there can neither be any compromise with the planners, facilitators and executors of the 9th May tragedy nor they would be allowed to hoodwink the law of land."
"Bringing the real culprits of 9th May to justice is paramount to ensure that in future, no one dares to desecrate the memories of our heroes and the symbols of our unity through such unwarranted conduct in future," it added.
Addressing a meeting of the cabinet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the real aim of the May 9 violence was to end democracy and establish kingship and an "individual's dictatorship".
He said the violence was not just a rebellion against Pakistan but against the state, including the army and its chief Gen Munir to create a divide in the country.
"There can absolutely be no soft-pedalling of what happened on May 9 and there can be no absolution for those who orchestrated, supported, and assisted the attempt to damage the foundations of our nation,” he said in a post on X.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the violence, saying the incidents “severely tarnished” the country's image and only "served the interests of Pakistan's enemies".
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the accountability of the perpetrators and conspirators of the May 9 violent acts would be taken to its logical conclusion because the characters behind the violence were known to everybody.
Information Minister Atta Tarar said there was evidence about who was involved in the May 9 acts, emphasising that these need to be brought to justice.
The violence was also condemned by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who emphasized "bringing the plotters to justice was necessary”.
Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the May 9 acts as “yet another dark chapter in the nation's history”. He said the “instigator behind the strongly condemnable events of May 9 is well-known to everyone”.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan refused to apologise for the May 9 riots, a day after the military ruled out dialogue with his party unless they tendered a public apology over the unprecedented violence.
Khan, who spoke to the media after the court proceedings in the 190 million pounds Al Qadir corruption case at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, said he was ready to face an inquiry into the sit-in that his party staged in 2014.
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"I condemned the May 9 incidents in front of (then) chief justice Umar Ata Bandial,” the 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician said when asked whether he would apologise for the May 9 violence.
Following the May 9 violence last year, Khan and hundreds of his party workers are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the stringent Official Secrets Act in connection with the violence. Khan has been incarcerated since August last year.
The government organised several events on the first anniversary of May 9 violence to honour victims whose monuments were defiled by the protestors.
A heavy contingent of police was deployed outside the residence of Khan in Lahore and his party offices across Punjab province to prevent any protest by the party on the first anniversary of the May 9 violence.
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PTI Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan said the government launched a crackdown against his party workers to stop them from taking to the streets but they would hold demonstrations. "Regardless of the crackdown, peaceful rallies and protests will be held all across Pakistan in the morning (of May 9),” he said.
A Punjab police officer told Press Trust of India that Khan's party would not be allowed to hold any rally in the province on May 9.
Authorities in Islamabad have declared all gatherings as illegal.
