PMLN, PPP lay into Imran over GHQ protest ‘admission’

LAHORE: Declaring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) an anarchist group, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has said that the mastermind of the May 9 events has confessed to the plot.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Maryam Nawaz said, “The May 9 culprit has confessed to planning and masterminding the riots.” She added, “It is not a party but an anarchist group whose sole purpose is to harm the state through mischief.”

The chief minister emphasized, “In the presence of evidence, strict action against this evil anarchist group, following the Constitution and law, is a requirement of national security and national interests.”

She said, “Zaman Park remained the training headquarters for the terrorists, where training was provided for making petrol bombs and attacking the state. May 9 was planned during the four-month drama of a plaster-cast leg.”

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz continued, “What a peaceful protest it was, in which more than 200 military installations were attacked, air force planes were set on fire, corps commanders’ houses were burnt and martyrs memorials were desecrated.”

She added, “Conspiracies to make Pakistan default, writing letters to the IMF, waving ciphers, and desecrating martyrs memorials are part of this big conspiracy.”

She elaborated, “This is the same conspiratorial group that alienated friendly countries from Pakistan, used bad language against their leadership, made baseless accusations on CPEC and China and stopped the visit of the president of China by staging a sit-in.”

She highlighted, “In 2014, they had attacked parliament, PTV and Prime Minister’s House, washed dirty clothes on the walls of police headquarters and dug graves in D-Chowk.”

On the other hand, Vice-President of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and Parliamentary leader of PPP in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman demanded an apology from the PTI founder chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan after he admitted to giving the protest call in front of the GHQ following his arrest. “Admitting to calling for attacks on the institutions and martyrs is not enough; Imran Khan should apologise for his crime,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

Senator Sherry Rehman said that in the past, Imran Khan used to hold institutions and the government responsible for violent protests and targeted sensitive institutions to avoid his arrest. She pointed out that Imran Khan had the facility of meeting party leaders and giving interviews in foreign journals while claiming that they had been kept in a terrorist cell. She remarked, “No leader in the past has been given a video link and interview facilities from jail. Has Imran Khan forgotten his fascism in the past?”

She said those who snatched facilities from the opponents in jails are now asking for facilities for themselves. “While today they have every facility in the jail,” she said.

Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari said that the entire nation now knows who the digital terrorists are and who is behind them. She warned that the younger generation was being incited against the country’s security institutions through systematic planning. She noted that the children of the person conspiring against the country are living a luxury life in London, urging Pakistan’s youth to stay away from the agenda of this disruptive party. She advised parents to learn a lesson from the events of May 9.

Azma Bokhari accused a specific group and their facilitators of causing unrest, disorder, and divisive politics in Pakistan. She said that a progressing and developing Pakistan is not acceptable to this group, which continuously creates new obstacles to the country’s security and development. She mentioned that the PTI had started various movements against the country, including resignations from assemblies, jail bharo movements and hunger strikes.

The failed movements have become a source of disgrace and embarrassment for him. She declared that all the narratives of this group have failed, just like their politics, and urged the people of Pakistan to recognise their real enemies. She asserted that the public was deceived in the name of Naya Pakistan and advised people to stay away from this disruptive group.

Bokhari warned that any negative propaganda campaign will be driven by the person sitting in Adiala jail, emphasizing that the prisoner of Adiala jail and his party are in no way acceptable to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, PTI founder’s senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja has claimed that Imran Khan did not admit anything regarding the May 9 events. Talking to the media after meeting Imran Khan in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Tuesday, Raja said that on March 14, a raid was conducted on Imran’s Zaman Park residence, followed by another raid on the Judicial Complex on March 18.

It is well-known that those who raided included personnel from the Rangers and ISI, he continued, stating that after these incidents, the party unanimously decided that if there were any further attempts involving interference from the Rangers or ISI, a peaceful protest would be held, whether at the GHQ or any other office.

Raja pointed out that during the detailed meeting at the jail, Imran Khan outright denied making any admission regarding May 9, maintaining that the reports of his confession were completely baseless. “Whatever happened on May 9, there should be a transparent inquiry and those found involved, whether 30, 40, or 50 individuals, should be punished,” the senior lawyer said.

However, he emphasized that under no circumstances should the public be attacked.

“We will fight as we did previously, for the people are with the PTI and demonstrated their support on February 8, delivering a crushing defeat to the rulers,” he added.

He said, “We are ready to talk for the welfare of Pakistan, we are ready to move forward. We want to avoid chaos in Pakistan, develop the country’s economy, and relieve people from poverty and inflation. The current environment will lead to disaster.” He stressed the necessity of taking the people and their elected leadership along.

Earlier, former speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser also denied the news about Imran Khan, saying that what had been reported in the media was not said by the PTI founder. When asked if Imran had made the statement in the presence of reporters, he replied, “We are denying it.”