There’s only one way for the group of political anarchists to sincerely apologise, says Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif
On Tuesday, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), emphasized the need to hold accountable those responsible for the May 9 riots, along with their accomplices, in accordance with the Constitution and legal framework of the nation. This, he stated, is crucial to uphold the credibility and trust in the country’s justice system.
The issue of May 9 riots is not limited to the Pakistan Army but [in fact] concerns the whole nation,” the military’s spokesperson said while addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi
Noting that the public was a witness to the May 9 incident the spokesperson lamented how some people were “brainwashed” against the armed forces and said: “We saw how some political leaders gave selected targets [to the mob]”.
“We saw that only military installations were attacked within a span of few hours [and] you saw the public outrage when evidence for this came to limelight.
“The lies and deceit cannot continue […] the people accused of being involved in May 9 riots need to be punished,” said the chief military spokesperson.
Commenting on the prospects of dialogue with any faction, Maj Gen Chaudhry said: “No talks will be held with any political leader, or group which attacks its own army and indulges in propaganda [against them]”.
“There can be no dialogue with an anarchist group,” he noted adding that the “only way forward for the anarchists [group] is to apologise sincerely [for their acts], abandon the politics of hate and indulge in constructive politics [instead]”.
“Talks are for political parties, not institutions,” the army’s spokesperson said.
Reacting to the demands for the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 riots, Maj Gen Chaudhry said that the army had no objection to the judicial inquiry.
However, he stressed that if a judicial commission is to be formed then this whole incident must be probed in depth.
“The [judicial] commission should also look into what were the objectives of 2014 sit-in […] how the parliament and the PTV [building] was attacked.
“And how Islamabad was stormed by using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s resources in 2022,” the DG ISPR said.
“The forum should also look into how lobbying firms were hired abroad, how letters were written to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and from where the funding was coming from and where it was being channelled to,” the military’s spokesperson added.