Govt forms committee to probe May 9 incidents

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam will head a cabinet committee formed to review and investigate the violent incidents of May 9, 2023, Geo News reported Saturday.

The cabinet body has been established on the directions of Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. It has been tasked to determine the masterminds, orchestrators, facilitators and those who carried out those plans of violence including attacks on military installations on May 9.

It will review the immediate and long-lasting impacts of the May 9 incidents too. The committee is bound to submit its report within 14 days. The committee will also give recommendations for stopping such happenings in the future.

The Cabinet Division has issued a notification regarding the formation of the body.

The notification read the Ministry of Interior would provide the secretariat’s support to the cabinet committee.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation Anoosh Masood had on September 20, 2023 said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and all others nominated as suspects in the probe into the May 9 riots had been charged with "criminal conspiracy".

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, she had said that nine additional sections pertaining to treason had been included in the challans for the cases of vandalism and violence that erupted after the deposed prime minister's arrest in the infamous £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK settlement case on May 9, against all the suspects including Khan.

The investigation official had said evidence of inciting mutiny and planning vandalism had been found against the PTI chief.

"Section 120(B) [pertaining to punishment of criminal conspiracy] of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) has been added to all the cases related to the May 9 incidents," Masood had said.