Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that “33 people involved in May 9 mayhem have been handed over to the military for trials”.
Addressing a press conference, he said that the culprits were suspected of attacking army installations during protests that followed the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
The minister underlined that 19 people from Punjab and 14 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) will be tried in military courts.
“These people trespassed and entered sensitive defence installations, so the question is that how did they manage to get there,” Sanaullah said.
Moreover, out of 499 FIRs registered on May 9, only six cases can be tried in military courts.
“A rumour is circulating that all trials will take place in military courts but that is not true. The military will investigate the case but not take cognisance of it. They will see whether the Army Act or the Official Secrets Act is applicable or not.”
He clarified that Army Act and the Official Secrets Act applies only when a person trespasses on a defence property.
He also stressed that no innocent person would be punished.
According to him, nearly 4,000 people were arrested throughout Pakistan under Anti-Terrorism Act out of which, 2,588 were arrested in Punjab alone. Sanaullah underlined that 1,099 people have been arrested from KP.
In other cases, nearly 80% of people have been released on bail.
He cited that “Imran is involved in the politics of hatred and he disrupted whole political landscape of Pakistan”.
“Aided by internal and external powers, he negatively transformed politics through an agenda,” he said.
He also blamed Imran for spreading false narratives regarding his planned assassination.
“If Imran is left unchecked, he can lead the nation towards a disaster,” the minister cited. “The events of May 9 have given an opportunity to identify and cleanse Imran.”
Many PTI workers and leaders were arrested in a countrywide crackdown against the protests taken out by the PTI on May 9 after Imran’s arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The military has termed the events of May 9 a “dark chapter” and announced to try the rioters under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.
Source: Business Recorder
Leave a Reply