ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military on Wednesday took a strong note of the chaotic situation across the country, saying that May 9 will be remembered as a “black chapter” and promised “strict action” against the identified facilitators, planners, and political activists involved in the acts of “vandalism” in a bid to push Pakistan “into a civil war”.
“May 9 will be remembered as a dark chapter. Chairman PTI [Imran Khan] was detained according to law from Islamabad High Court according to NAB’s statement. Immediately after his arrest, army properties and installations were attacked in a systematic manner and anti-army slogans were chanted,” the military’s media wing – Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) – said in a strongly-worded press release.
“What the country’s eternal enemy could not do for 75 years, this group wearing a political cloak has done in the lust for power,” the ISPR said, adding that the military exercised extreme patience, tolerance, and restraint in the wider national interest without caring about its own reputation.
PTI calls for protests after Imran Khan’s arrest
On the one hand, the ISPR added that “these miscreants vigorously stir up public sentiments for achieving their limited and selfish objectives and on the other hand, they deceive people, continuing to highlight the army’s importance for the country”. “This is an example of hypocrisy,” it added.
The ISPR further stated that with the situation created under “nefarious planning”, a “heinous” attempt was made to provoke the Army for giving 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 the created situation, there were orders, directives and complete pre-planning by some sinister party leadership. There was and is a complete pre-planning behind this,” the ISPR further stated.
The ISPR said that the facilitators, planners and political activists involved in the protests have been identified, adding that strict action would be taken against them “as per the law and all these evil elements will now be responsible for the consequences themselves”.
It warned that 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.”
“We will not allow anyone to take the law into their hands…No one can be allowed to incite people and take the law into their hands,” the military’s media wing further warned.
The statement of the ISPR comes a day after the PTI chairman Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary forces from the premises of the IHC in a case pertaining to the Al-Qadir Trust which led to a countrywide chaotic situation, including in military cantonments, General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi, and offices of the Frontier Crops.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023