‘Act Of Terrorism’, ‘Black Chapter’: Pak PM, Army Warn Of Strong Action Against Protesters After Imran Khan’s Arrest

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s army slammed former premier Imran Khan’s supporters and party members after violence gripped the country following Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s army warned protestors and the supporters of former premier Imran Khan after violence gripped the country following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. Sharif called the party workers’ actions “unforgivable crimes” while the Army threatened action against demonstrators who attacked the army’s properties and installations while raising “anti-army slogans”. 

According to Geo News, the incumbent Pakistan Prime Minister said Wednesday that strict action would be taken against “state’s enemies”. In his address to the nation, Sharif came down heavily on the PTI, saying that “the miscreants will be dealt with iron hands. They will be punished according to the law”.

He urged PTI protesters to immediately stop “anti-state activities”, as quoted by Geo News.

The Prime Minister remarked that by staging violent protests, PTI workers have done in a few days what the country’s enemies could not do in 75 years.

He claimed that the nation was “rejecting anti-state agenda” and also lauded law enforcement agencies, including the military, for showing restraint in the face of violent protests.

According to Sharif, PTI leadership including Imran Khan instigated a “few hundred armed workers” to attack the Pakistan Army.

PTI workers “took patients out of ambulances and set the vehicles on fire”, the premier alleged, adding that the party workers proved their “anti-state tendencies” by damaging government properties.

“They attacked sensitive property as if they were enemies. I have never seen such heartbreaking scenes,” he remarked, as per a Geo News report.

The premier emphasised that upholding the rule of law meant fighting the battle in a court. “Khan was arrested in connection with a corruption case. All evidence is present in the Al Qadir Trust case, which NAB (National Accountability Bureau) is conducting an inquiry into,” he said, as per the report.

Miscreants Evoke Nation’s Emotions For Achieving Their Limited And Selfish Objectives: Pakistan Army’s Media Wing

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media body of the Pakistan Army, said on Wednesday that May 9 will be remembered as a “black chapter”.

“We will not allow anyone to take the law into their hands,” the military’s media wing said in a statement, as per Dawn.

It also maintained stated that Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) “in line with the NAB statement and law”.

“Immediately after this arrest, attacks were perpetrated on the army’s properties and installations while anti-army slogans were raised,” the ISPR stated, as quoted in Dawn’s report.

It slammed PTI supporters saying, “these miscreants evoke the nation’s emotions for achieving their limited and selfish objectives and on the other hand, they deceive people, continuing to highlight the army’s importance”.

“This is an example of hypocrisy,” it stated.

The military’s media wing made similar remarks as Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif saying that “this group wearing a political cloak” managed to do what enemies could not do in 75 years, all “in the lust for power”.

“The army showed patience and restraint and exercised extreme tolerance, not even caring about its reputation, in the larger interest of the country,” it stated, as per the report.

“With this situation created under nefarious planning, a heinous attempt was made to make the army give an immediate reaction, which could be used for nefarious political purposes. The Army’s mature response thwarted this conspiracy. We are well aware that behind it were orders, directives and complete pre-planning by some sinister party leadership,” the statement added.

“Any further attack on the army, including all law enforcement agencies, military and state installations and properties will be severely retaliated, the responsibility of which will be on this very group that wants to push Pakistan into a civil war and has expressed it multiple times. No one can be allowed to incite people and take the law into their hands,” the army’s media wing warned.

‘Sad Collection Of Revenge-Based Narratives’: PTI’s Rebuttal To ISPR’s Statement

The PTI issued a rebuttal to the ISPR statement contending that it is based on “a poor understanding of the ground situation”. “The declaration is a sad collection of hatred and revenge-based narratives against the most reliable, popular and largest political party of the Federation of Pakistan, Central Media Department,” it stated in a tweet.

PTI stressed that it is a democratic party in its structure, ideology, and manifesto. “Tehreek-e-Insaf believes in achieving its objectives peacefully, non-violently, and adhering to the constitution and law.”

It blamed Imran Khan’s dramatic arrest for the violence saying, “The public reaction after the abduction of PTI chairman from the High Court by paramilitary forces on May 9 is due to many factors.”

“Chairman Imran Khan has been constantly pointing out these factors for the past thirteen months. During these thirteen months, the gross deviation from the Constitution and serious violations of the basic constitutional rights of the citizens created bitterness among the people,” the PTI stated.

It further remarked that “a sharp distortion in the balance of power between state institutions, extrajudicial measures, and destruction of the economy also created bitterness” among the masses of the country.

Calling itself the “biggest party” of Pakistan, PTI said that “the illegal attempts to crush its leadership also gave birth to the bitterness in the people which the state has been neglecting.”

Protests After Imran Khan’s Arrest

Imran Khan, who travelled from Lahore to the federal capital Islamabad, was undergoing a biometric process at the Islamabad High Court when the paramilitary Rangers broke open the glass window and arrested him after beating lawyers and Khan’s security staff.

The arrest of the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman came a day after the powerful army accused him of levelling baseless allegations against a senior officer of spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

As the news of his arrest by the Rangers spread, massive protests broke out in several cities across Pakistan. Protesters at several places turned violent and burned police vehicles and damaged public property.