Govt report identifies dozens of PTI leaders for May 9 violent attacks

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker government’s May 9 report not only focused on the role of Imran Khan in events leading to attacks on military installations, it also reflects on how dozens of PTI leaders allegedly incited violence and participated in what the country had never witnessed in its history.

The report disclosed that the protests erupted at over 300 places and discussed in detail who did what.

“Upon Mr Khan’s arrest, PTI leaders promptly took to social media to spread lies about Mr Khan’s custody and encourage people to violence. It was widely alleged that Mr Khan was being tortured and that he was likely to be assassinated. The language employed was sensationalist, inflammatory and it consistently encouraged violence,” said the report presented before the present cabinet a few days back.

“Some instances of lies and incitement to violence by PTI leaders on that day are as follows. Hammad Azhar tweeted at 1437 hours to allege that Mr Khan was being tortured. Ms Zartaj expressed fear at 1510 hours that Mr Khan would be killed in custody. Murad Saeed tweeted at 1437 hours, 1444 hours and 1620 hours in which he, respectively, called PTI workers to gather at designated spots, not to let authorities torture and kill Mr Khan, and to make earth hell for those who consider themselves powerful. Farrukh Habib tweeted at 1651 hours asking people to lay down their lives but not let the police torture Mr Khan. Ali Amin Gandapur tweeted at 1712 hours telling workers it was now or never and to protect Khan with their lives. Ali Zaidi tweeted at 1623 hours and asked his workers to shut down the province (Sindh). Ms Anam Sheikh, Ms Shandana Gulzar Khan, Ms Kanwal Shauzab tweeted within a short span of each other encouraging people to protest at GHQ Rawalpindi. Senator Ejaz Chaudhary tweeted at 1428 hours calling all party workers to shut down the whole country. Faisal Javed tweeted at 1448 hours alleging Mr Khan was being tortured. Shahryar Afridi tweeted at 1536 hours implying that the traitors who had arrested Mr Khan had attacked the nation. Omar Malik tweeted a video message at 1555 hours encouraging people to march towards the residence of Corps Commander, Lahore.”

Within moments of Mr Khan’s arrest, according to the report, the PTI social media activists started twitter handles that incited violence and encouraged people to attack military installations. These included, among others “#GoToGHQ”, “#NikloGHQkiTaraf” and “#Khanourredline”. These twitter handles systematically and methodically spread lies and misinformation. These handles were instrumental in inciting violence.

“Shortly after Mr Khan’s arrest, certain foreign based vloggers uploaded video messages making unsubstantiated allegations of torture and encouraged people to attack state institutions. Many of these vloggers incited general public to attack military installations. Most alarmingly, they tried to incite rebellion amongst armed forces and encouraged army officers and jawans to revolt against their command. These vloggers included Adil Raja, Haider Mehdi, Wajahat Khan, Moeed Pirzada and Shaheen Sehbai. Adil Raja and Haider Mehdi encouraged army officers to revolt,” said the report.

The report also discussed how the protesters in the cities turned violent:

“Lahore: Protests in Lahore started around 1500 hours when people started gathering at Liberty Chowk. At around 1600 hours Dr Yasmin Rashid reached Liberty Chowk and the protesters started moving towards the Corps Commander’s residence (Jinnah House). By 1800 hours the protesters entered the Jinnah House and after completely ransacking the house, they set it alight. The protesters also attacked and ransacked the nearby MES office and the CSD. By 2200, the same mob had reached the Main Boulevard where it attacked and set alight the Askari Tower and the Askari Bank. A party of protesters also attacked PMLN Secretariat at 180-H Model Town. There were continual clashes between LEAs and the protesters across different parts of the city. As per LEA estimates the total number of protesters in Lahore was around 2,000. As per LEA reports, the following led and incited the protestors: Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Murad Saeed, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Zubair Niazi, Umar Cheema, Hammad Azhar, Ejaz Chaudhary, Hassaan Niazi, Ms Ayesha Iqbal, Ms Aliya Hamza, Ms Munazza Hassan, Ms Mussarat Cheema, Ms Aleema Khan and Ms Nosheen Hamid.

Rawalpindi: By 1700 hours protesters had gathered at Liaquat Bagh. Between 1700 hours and 1800 hours, a number of audio clips of PTI leaders surfaced on social media urging the protesters to move to the GHQ. By 1800 hours the crowd had reached the GHQ. The crowd turned violent, breaking a statue outside the GHQ, and the glass door in the reception area. The crowd which had entered the GHQ was repulsed by the LEAs. The mob did, however, ransack the military history museum and the Army Signals Mess. They also set ablaze several vehicles. At the same time, a party attacked the Hamza Camp and tried to damage the building. By 2200 hours, the mob had started attacking the Army Welfare Trust (AWT) Plaza and set its entrance on fire. The LEA personnel and the protesters clashed over several hours in which many LEA personnel were hurt. As per LEA reports, the following led and incited the protestors: Sadaqat Abbasi, Ms Kanwal Shauzab, Wasiq Qayyum, Umer Butt, Jehangir Butt, Raja Usman, Atif Qureshi, Muslim Khan, Zeeshan Mumtaz, Qaiser Khan, Zaki Butt, Malik Abid, Ms Seemabia Tahir, Asif Mehmood, Ms Tayyaba Ibrahim, Ms Shabana Fayyaz, Azhar Mir and Haseeb Naqvi.

Gujranwala: By 1940 hours a party of about 100 protesters tried to enter Gujranwala Cantt, but were pushed back by the LEAs. The protesters continued to attack and eventually destroyed the Rahwali gate and the main reception area. As per LEA reports, the following led the protesters: Jamal Cheema, Bao Akram, Shabbir Mahar, Ali Ashraf Mughal, Mahar M Sadiq, Rizwan Butt, Umar Ashraf, Ansar Natt, Najaf Shirazi, Rana Zakaullah and Asadullah Pappa.

Mianwali: Around 1700 hours, a party of about 1,000 PTI workers attacked the MM Alam Airbase, Mianwali. This group was led by former PTI parliamentarians Amjad Ali Khan and Malik Ahmad Khan Bachar. The protesters damaged the boundary wall, broke the main entrance gate of the air base and set ablaze a model jet. The mob was repelled by the LEAs. The same mob then attacked and damaged the Police Khidmet Centre, judicial complex and commercial establishments including the National Bank, Punjab Bank and the General Post Office. A number of shops were looted and vehicles were set ablaze. The next day, a smaller party led by the same two individuals blocked the Mianwali-Bannu Road and attacked several vehicles before attacking and damaging PS Kamar Mashani. As per LEA reports, the following led and incited the protestors: Amjad Ali Khan, Malik Ahmad Khan, Saleem Gul Khan, Ameer Khan Swansi, Alam Khan, and Ameenullah Khan.

Islamabad: Around 1500 hours on 10 May, a party of PTI workers from KP, estimated to be around 1000, reached Islamabad and attacked the SP Office Industrial Area and set it alight. They then attacked the Ramna Police Station. The mob damaged several vehicles. The mob was led by Shahryar Afridi, Khalid Wazir, Amir Mughal, Chaudhary Jehangir, Wajahat Sami, Khalid Khan and Raja Shahid Nawaz.

Multan: At around 1800 hours, PTI workers gathered at CMH Chowk. By 1900 hours, the numbers grew to about a thousand. The mob attacked and damaged the Army Recruitment Centre, Army check post and neighbouring buildings including National Bank. The crowd was mobilised and led by Malik Amir Dogar, Saleem Akhtar Labar, Nadeem Qureshi, Khalid Javed Warraich, Khurram Liaquat and Zain Qureshi.

The report said, “This committee notes with profound regret and pain that in spite of causing so much harm and hurt, Mr Khan remained remorseless and initially dismissed blame by saying such events were bound to happen and may yet recur unless charges against him are not dropped. Mr Khan never admitted responsibility nor expressed remorse for his role or that of his party leaders and workers in the events of 9 May 2023. He did, however, eventually condemn the violence several days later but blamed the ISI for it.”