No pardon for those involved in May 9 violence: Kundi

Newly appointed Kyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has said the elements that are behind the May 9 riots and violence in the country last year (following PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest) should be given exemplary punishment.

Talking to media persons at the Sindh Assembly building on Tuesday, he said the May 9 tragedy was the most condemnable incident in Pakistan’s political history. “This is such an incident of Pakistan’s history whose perpetrators could never be forgiven,” said Kundi.

He lamented that the PTI leadership was in the habit of issuing highly provocative statements that spread anarchy in the country. He said the PTI leadership would never be able to fulfil their wicked designs.

He conceded that the security situation in KP had not been satisfactory where the law-enforcement agencies had been conducting targeted operations. He said the police personnel in KP had been drawing a lower salary than those of their counterparts in other provinces. He said the KP police force had been discharging their duties without modern weapons.

Kundi said that he would initiate dialogue with such quarters that served the interests of Pakistan. “I don’t want my province to get disturbed either because of me or the Governor House,” he said.

The governor said he wanted to act as an advocate for the people of KP. He said the masses in KP had endured the worst times. He said a probe would be conducted into all corruption scams in KP. He said the capital city of KP was deprived of healthcare facilities like NICVD or SIUT whereas the health insurance card also provided limited coverage to the deserving patients in his province.