May 9 violence was attempted coup: Kakar

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that the May 9 violence was an attempt at a coup and civil war and its target was the current army chief and his team.

He expressed these views while speaking on the Geo News programme Jirga hosted by Saleem Safi. “The vandalism and arson on May 9 were witnessed by the whole world and international newspapers reported the tragedy. This kind of manipulation is not acceptable in any form of government,” he maintained.

In his first special interview, while answering various questions from the host of the programme Saleem Safi, Kakar said, “We do not want to create an impression that revenge is being taken against the accused of May 9, but if legal action is not taken against those who violated the country’s laws and resorted to torture, then we will be seen as a party to the matter.”

He said that no political party had the right to throw stones at others, abuse them, and burn buildings. In response to a question, the prime minister said, “I had no idea that I would ever sit on the prime minister’s chair. The state has both negotiation and force tools to deal with the TTP or any banned organisation.”

He said the final decision on India-Pakistan trade has to be taken by Indian politicians. The cipher is an important issue, he added. Viewers will be able to watch the detailed interview at 10:05pm on Sunday.