‘London plan’: Imran Khan blames ‘agencies men’ for May 9 vandalism

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has blamed “agencies' men” for May 9 vandalism triggered by his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9, saying his party is being implicated in the incident under an organised conspiracy.

In a tweet from his official handle on Monday, the former prime minister said they had an “ample amount of evidence” to prove that the agencies' men carried out arson and shootings during the protests to blame it on the PTI.

His statement comes shortly after the military's top brass vowed to try protesters and their abettors under relevant laws, including the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act, after PTI workers and supporters stormed military installations on May 9, which the army dubbed as "Black Day".

The decision came during a Special Corps Commanders Conference (CCC) held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir in the chair, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Following the arrest of Khan, who has criticised the military since his ouster in April last year, the PTI workers stormed the military installations and ransacked the Lahore’s Corps Commander house, originally known as Jinnah House, among other public properties.

"The forum expressed [a] firm resolve that those involved in these heinous crimes against the military installations and personal/equipment will be brought to justice through trials under relevant laws of Pakistan including Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act," the statement mentioned.

Without referring to the military’s statement, the PTI chief wrote: “We have ample amount of evidence to present to any independent inquiry that the arson and in some places shootings were done by agencies men who wanted to cause mayhem and blame it on PTI so the current crackdown would be justified.”

In a video statement, Khan said the government buildings and the Lahore Corps Commander's house were ransacked under the “organised conspiracy”.

He said miscreants were infiltrated into the PTI protesters and instigated his workers, a video evidence of which he said available with the party.

“I want an independent inquiry [into the vandalism]..,” he said adding that this was all being done under London's plan to ban his party and put all the leaders behind bars.

Earlier in another tweet, he also shared videos stating that PTI Punjab chapter President Dr Yasmin Rashid and her sisters were “clearly telling the protesters not to harm Jinnah House”.

“Clearly this was all stage managed by those who wanted to use this as a pretext to further crackdown on PTI, jail our workers and senior leadership along with me so that the assurances given to NS [Nawaz Sharif] in the London plan could be honoured,” he alleged.