Imran wants to return to power with US support: Khawaja Asif

LONDON: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday held the judiciary responsible for delay in taking the case involving those responsible for violence and rioting on May 9, 2023 to its logical conclusion.

In a hard-hitting address from London, the defence minister dubbed incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan a “product of establishment” and said: “The matter of bringing those responsible for May 9 to justice was delayed due to the judiciary.” His remarks came a day after 25 individuals involved in the May 9 attacks on the state installations were handed two to 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment” by the military courts in the first phase. “Urgent decisions were needed in the matter of May 9,” added the minister.

Calling the jailed PTI founder “mastermind” of the May 9 riots, the minister said: “May 9 was planned by a person who was himself a product of the establishment.”

“Individuals involved in the May 9 attacks were trained,” he said, adding that sensitive installations were attacked by the rioters.

In his address on Sunday, the defence minister said the military courts sentenced 25 accused on basis of evidence, adding that there were videos showing the convicts attacking the military installations. “PTI was brought to power via RTS in 2018,” he said while referring to alleged rigging in the general elections.

The PMLN blames the Results Transmission System (RTS) for its loss in the polls.

The minister said: “A person who takes a U-turn can never be a national leader.” He further said that Khan wanted to return to power with the support of US, adding that Washington became “absolutely not” when the jailed premier was ousted from power.

He hailed PML-N president and three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for turning Pakistan into a nuclear state despite international pressure.

The minister blasted the judiciary for convicting Nawaz in the Panama Papers case, saying: “Verdict in the Panama case is shameful for the judiciary.”

Asif was of the view that Nawaz-led government was overthrown via a conspiracy, adding that then army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa was working on “minus Nawaz Sharif project” at that time. The minister said that the mastermind of May 9 violence would also be brought to justice after handing sentences to the operatives. “The May 9-like situation will not arise even if PTI founder is sentenced,” he added.