For ‘planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators’ of May 9 tragedy: Process of trial under Army laws has begun: COAS

LAHORE: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that hostile and inimical forces and their abettors have been trying hard to create confusion through fake news and propaganda, but all such designs of the enemy will be defeated with the support of the nation, Insha-Allah.

Addressing the garrison officers and soldiers at the corps headquarters, General Munir emphasised that any action aimed at creating a gulf between people and the military was against the state.

“Army draws its strength from people and any attempt to create a wedge between the army and the people of Pakistan is an act against the State, which is neither tolerable nor condonable under any circumstances,” the army chief said.

He said the legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 mayhem had commenced under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act, as per existing and established legal procedures, derived from the Constitution.

The army chief’s statement came as he visited the Jinnah House and an army installation in Lahore, which were blatantly attacked and vandalised by “politically motivated” rioters, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a handout.

The COAS was also given a briefing on events of May 9, dubbed by the military as Black Day, the day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters ransacked and torched military installations across the country following the arrest of their leader Imran Khan in a graft case.

Later, the COAS also visited the Services Hospital, Lahore, and inquired about the well-being of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Ali Nasir Rizvi, who was injured by “political miscreants” during the May 9 incident.

Gen Munir also visited the Qurban Lines and met with police officials.

The COAS paid homage to the martyrs of police, appreciated the professionalism and restraint exercised by them during the May 9 riots, and promised the army’s full support to the law-enforcement agencies for their capacity enhancement, intelligence sharing and training.

The COAS laid a wreath at the martyrs' monument and paid rich tribute to the Shuhada, who sacrificed their lives for the motherland, read the statement.