PTI says ISPR's SCCC statement on vandals 'immensely important'

Reacting to the Pakistan Army’s statement about trying vandals and their abettors who attacked government buildings under laws of the land, including the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it considers the Special Corps Commanders Conference (SCCC) statement immensely important.

“PTI acknowledges the importance of statement issued upon conclusion of SCCC held at GHQ on May 15, 2023 and considers the impression of a well-thought-out plan of promoting violence & mayhem engulfing several government buildings, military structures and hundreds of unarmed & peaceful citizens,” the statement read.

A day earlier, the military's top brass vowed to deal with the miscreants strictly.

"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 ISPR's statement mentioned.

It added that some government buildings, military properties and hundreds of innocent and peaceful citizens came under this chaos. The statement also highlighted that the Constitution was the guarantor of the people’s basic democratic right of peaceful protest.

"As a responsible and the largest political institution in the federation of Pakistan, PTI has an unwavering commitment to the constitution & democracy, and it believes that the constitution is a beacon of light for all of us at the individual as well as collective levels and solutions to the most intricate problems lie within the ambit of constitution and bounds of laws," it said in its statement. 

The party, however, also reiterated its stance on the violent protests as a political reflex action to the party chairman's arrest. 

"Peaceful protest after Chairman PTI’s illegal abduction through paramilitary troops of Rangers from within the premises of Islamabad High Court on May 9, was a natural and foreseeable reaction guaranteed by the constitution as a basic right to peaceful protest to the public," the party statement said.

The party alleged there was evidence that armed anarchists infiltrated the ranks of peaceful protestors as part of a deliberate plan and incited 'burn and besiege'. 

"However, a plethora of irrefutable evidence is available to establish that armed miscreants entered into the peaceful gatherings and indulged in arson and fired live bullets on the peaceful protestors leaving dozens killed and hundreds injured."

“As a result of firing by anarchists, dozens of innocent civilians were martyred and hundreds were injured,” PTI stated.

The statement mentioned that after the assassination attempt on Khan last year in November, this was the first such instance in the party’s 27 years of peaceful struggle.

It added that an attempt to pit PTI and Pakistan Army against each other was made under the guise of chaos and riots. The party sought an all-around investigation to identify the elements behind the extraordinary episode.

“We hereby declare that we have sufficient evidence to present in any independent investigation/inquiry,” the statement revealed, highlighting how it was a plan to spread chaos and blame it on PTI.

The party insisted that it had unwavering faith in the supremacy of the Constitution and the law.