Pakistan: Imran Khan Agrees With Army’s Demand, Seeking Penalties for Those Responsible for May 9 Violence

Islamabad: Imran Khan, the now-incarcerated former prime minister of Pakistan, said that he agreed with the army’s call to punish those responsible for the bloodshed on May 9 of last year. Imran Khan made his remark after hundreds of his followers’ violent assaults on military sites on the day of rallies over his alleged corruption and subsequent incarceration.

“We endorse the proclamation and demand that those responsible for the violent incidents on May 9th face harsh consequences,” he said.

He said that CCTV footage should be used to identify the individuals involved in the event and mentioned that it was also used to identify and apprehend those responsible for the assault on Capitol Hill in America.

The Pakistan Army cited the military’s high brass in a statement after the Corps Commanders Conference, which took place on Tuesday at GHQ Rawalpindi. The top brass said that individuals accountable for assaults on security and civic institutions need to face consequences.

The army said, “The forum committed that the perpetrators, instigators, abettors, and planners of the May 9 attacks on military installations and the desecrators of martyrs’ monuments would certainly be brought to justice under the relevant provisions of the law and Constitution.”

Imran Khan, in the meantime, declared his support for the army’s declaration after the Corps Commander Conference.

Additionally, it is said that Imran Khan stated, “No one in our party is against the army.” He questioned how criticizing elections could be equated with criticizing the army, adding that on February 8, the May 9 narrative was deemed ineffective since it was not accepted that “we committed any treason.”

He said he was surprised that no judicial panel had been established on the violence on May 9 and that it seemed no one would be open to conducting an impartial investigation into the horrific events.

Imran Khan remarked, in answer to a query, that it was unlawful to deny his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party reserved seats and that this contradicted democracy. He said that the 1971 dissolution of the nation was caused by the deprivation of the mandate for the people of East Pakistan, or what is now Bangladesh.

Imran Khan accused the caretaker administration and the Election Commission of Pakistan of orchestrating the worst electoral manipulation in the nation’s history. Even the winners, he added, knew that the contest was rigged.

Additionally, he attacked Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif, the leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), charging them with reversing their positions on voting respect. He referred to the soldiers as “boots” and suggested they were not being treated with respect.

He said that the biggest benefactors of vote-rigging were three parties: the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Peoples Party, and PNL-N. For this reason, he refused to form any kind of coalition with them.

In April 2022, a vote of no confidence resulted in Imran Khan’s removal. Over 150 charges have been filed against him since he was removed from office. Additionally, Imran Khan has a ten-year ban on holding any kind of public office.