by Press Trust of IndiaPakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that his government has every right to legally punish those responsible for the unprecedented violence on May 9, just as the US government did in its January 6 attack on the Capitol Hill building. Similar to action taken against civilians. , 2021.
Violent protests took place across the country on 9 May Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court. The government subsequently launched a massive crackdown against PTI leaders and activists, detaining thousands of people accused of attacking civilian and military installations.
Addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of a water supply project here, Sharif said the politics of anarchy reached its peak on May 9 in the form of desecration of the country’s martyrs and security establishments.
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Khan’s supporters vandalized a dozen military installations, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad, in response to Khan’s arrest.
The mob also stormed the Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi for the first time.
Police put the death toll in the violent clashes at 10, while Khan’s party claimed 40 of its workers were killed in firing by security personnel.
“Today, in the city of captivity, we are all ashamed of what happened in Lahore on May 9th. Justice requires punishing criminals like the rioters of the Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021. If that punishment was legal, someone Shouldn’t even be given to anyone.” Object if we do this under our law for desecration of our martyrs,” Prime Minister Sharif said.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of his supporters storms the United States Capitol building in Washington, DC, following the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Chaos broke out during a meeting of the US Senate and House of Representatives to certify the victory of Democrat Joe Biden over Trump, a Republican, in the 2020 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar defended the federal government’s decision to prosecute those involved in attacks on state and army installations under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, saying that no state can tolerate incidents of arson and sabotage. can’t forgive ,
“Is there any state in the world that does not respond to arson and vandalism? Everyone saw the reaction to the attack on Capitol Hill in America.
Civil and military leaders of Pakistan supported the decision taken a day earlier during a meeting of corps commanders on 17 May to invoke the strict Pakistan Army Act, 1952 and Official Secrets Act, 1923 against those involved in the 9 May riots. was asked to do.
The government has launched a massive crackdown against PTI leaders and workers and has detained thousands of people on charges of attacking civilian and military establishments.
Khar claimed that no country gave him any advice regarding the trial of arsonists under the Army Act. “However, all countries were concerned about the riots in Pakistan,” he said.
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Reacting to the political crisis in Pakistan, the US has said that it is monitoring the situation.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday, “We are monitoring the situation in Pakistan very closely. We do not have a position on one political candidate or another inside Pakistan.”
“We call for respect and equal application of democratic principles, freedom of expression and the rule of law around the world, and certainly in Pakistan we urge that these principles be respected for all people,” he said.
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