Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari has criticised former Prime Minister Imran Khan over his offer of a conditional apology, and labelled him as the ‘mastermind behind the failed May 9 insurrection.’
In a statement made on Thursday, Uzma revealed that for a year, people had been systematically brainwashed and incited. She explained that on the day of Imran Khan’s arrest, his key associates caused alarm among supporters by claiming that their leader’s life was in danger. It prompted people to take to the streets, she added. The Punjab information minister further explained that prior to May 9, Imran Khan had himself warned that if he was arrested again, his supporters would react similarly. International media had also reported that PTI members attacked military installations, she further said.
Uzma stated that the ‘mastermind of the May 9 insurrection is now shamelessly asking for a conditional apology.’
“On one hand, he burns the house of Pakistan’s founder, and on the other, he shamelessly seeks a conditional apology.”
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that also rules in the centre, recently stated that there can be no apology for an act of terrorism. The CM further said that an apology is for a mistake, while a crime warrants punishment.
“Attacking one’s own country is terrorism, not a mistake.”
Separately, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Talal Chaudhry on Thursday fired back at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s offer to tender a conditional apology for the May 9 incidents, terming it a “face-saving tactic” that comes too little, too late.
Talking to a private news channel, Chaudhry slammed Khan’s attempt to justify the violent clashes that erupted on May 9, which resulted in widespread property damage and injuries to several individuals.
The PML-N leader demanded an unconditional apology from Khan, holding him squarely responsible for the chaos and destruction unleashed by his party’s supporters. He said that the person who confessed to the crime is now demanding evidence. Talal Chaudhry has revealed that Imran Khan’s own family and party workers were at the forefront of the May 9 violence.
He said that the PTI desecrated military installations, sensitive buildings, and even attacked our national TV station and Parliament House.
It is time for Imran Khan to take responsibility and apologize sincerely, without conditions. Anything less would be an insult to the nation, he stressed.
Replying a question, he vehemently demanded swift justice for the martyred and innocent civilians who lost their lives in the May 9 incidents.
He emphasized that the nation will not tolerate any further delays in bringing the perpetrators to book. Chaudhry asserted that the government must take concrete steps to ensure that those responsible for the senseless violence are held accountable and punished accordingly. He also called for a transparent and impartial investigation into the events, stressing that the families of the martyrs and the nation at large deserve to know the truth.
