Govt doubles down on May 9 apology amid PTI’s refusal

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday doubled down on its demand for an apology from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan over the events of May 9, 2023, while the former ruling party firmly rejected any such possibility, reports Geo News.

“Apology is not enough… they [PTI] do not have any option other than confessing to the crime,” State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.

His remarks came days after Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah hinted at Imran’s release if the latter offers a wholehearted apology for the events of May 9, 2023, which saw military installations being vandalised across the country in riots triggered after his arrest.

The then Pakistan Development Movement (PDM) government as well as the current one have held PTI responsible for the riots — something which the former ruling party vehemently denies.

The former ruling party, ever since its negotiations with the government reached a stalemate, has been reaching out to opposition parties to launch a protest against the ruling coalition with an aim to “restore” the supremacy of the rule of law and Constitution and secure the release of “political prisoners” in the country.

Speaking during today’s programme, Chaudhry noted that if PTI and its founder believe they would not apologise, despite evidence and testimonies against them, the people of Pakistan know the truth.

“They have attacked the establishment… they attacked defence installations across the country,” he said, adding that it was a larger conspiracy in which the PTI founder was involved. Referring to the recent session of Parliamentary Committee on National Security (NSC), Chaudhry said that every effort was made to ensure broader participation. However, he questioned why the former ruling party chose not to attend the crucial meeting.

He further said that operations under the National Action Plan (NAP) were underway, with hundreds of intelligence-based operations being conducted daily to maintain security.