Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the May 9 riots, which occurred one year ago today, as a “mutiny” against the Pakistan Army and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.
In response to last year’s May 9 riots, PM Shehbaz chaired a special cabinet meeting in Islamabad and declared that the event was a mutiny against both the military and Army head Gen. Munir, in addition to an attempted rebellion against the state.
“This revolt was snuffed out,” the prime minister said in the high-level huddle also attended by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar and other allied parties of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
His comments allude to the riots that ensued following the apprehension of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in a case of graft, during which hundreds of demonstrators damaged military sites throughout the nation.
The General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander House in Lahore were among the civic and military installations that the protestors targeted.
Regarding the causes of the tragedy, the prime minister stated that if the PTI-led “puppet government” had not been overthrown in a way that followed the constitution, the attacks might not have taken place.
According to him, the attacks might not have occurred if the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the PDM government had ignored the foreign funding issue and other corruption issues, such the £190 million case and others.
Additionally, he emphasized that the riots were organized in order to thwart the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) attempts to mend the harm done to amicable relations between the two countries.
“It is worth wondering why the people accused of being involved in the riots haven’t been brought to justice and sentenced as per the law and the Constitution even after one year,” Shehbaz added, bemoaning the delay in the judicial process against the suspected offenders.
The prime minister further emphasized that those responsible for planning and carrying out the May 9 disturbances continue to deny any involvement.
“Attempts are being made to distort the facts through lies,” he stated.
Reprezenting the PPP, Naveed Qamar stated during the ceremony that “we must move on from condemning the events of May 9”.
“The [names] of those who were directly involved in [riots] should be revealed to the masses [and] should be tried,” the leader of the PPP stated.
Additionally, according to sources, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also submitted the report of a cabinet standing committee on the May 9 riots, which was established by the caretaker government, at the meeting.
According to the sources, the investigation exposed PTI’s direct involvement in the tragedy, and the federal cabinet has agreed to enact the required laws in light of the findings.
In order to wrap up the cases as soon as possible, the participants also demanded that the accused face swift judicial proceedings.
The cabinet member questioned why the perpetrators of May 9th, 2021, had not yet been prosecuted, “if the elements involved in Capitol Hill were punished [then] why have the perpetrators not been punished yet.”
Law Minister Tarar told the reporters following the cabinet meeting that the committee’s inquiry report, which included caretaker federal ministers, emphasized the “irrefutable evidence” against PTI leaders for their purported role in the May 9 riots.
“There is history, a trail of planning for May 9 events,” Tarar stated, noting that the committee had suggested changes to the current legislation to speed up the resolution of cases.
The law minister stated that the group has also suggested that vandalism of state facilities be classified as a serious offense.
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