Swabi   -   Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi said here on Thursday that none of the patriotic Pakistanis can ever forget the fire that was set on May 9, 2023 and all those involved in this incident should be punished severely.

He said this while talking to media persons at the mausoleum of Capt Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed, who was awarded the highest military award Nishan-e-Haidar.

The Governor paid glowing tributes to Capt Karnal Sher Khan who is known as a hero of Kargil operation.

“Unless there is a process of punishment and reward in this country, Pakistan cannot develop,” he said while referring to the May 9 riotes, adding, “If Pakistan is run according to the theory of necessity, then we cannot make our dream of prosperity true. He added that it the people involved in May 9 are not punished, tomorrow another group will rise and Pakistan will be harmed again.

The Governor said that those people who rendered sacrifices for the country, their names are written with golden words in history but what happened on May 9; it had shaken the families of Pakistani heroes.

It was a shameful day in the history of the country because the military installations and martyrs’ mausoleums across the country were attacked.

The politically motivated protesters had challenged the writ of the state, flagrantly violated the rule of law and badly damaged the image of institutions, and credibility of the country, he said.

“I demand from the state and Pakistani institutions that those who were involved in the incident of May 9 should be punished so that in the future no one should treat the state of Pakistan, the heroes of the country and the institutions in such way.”

The Governor criticised PTI leader Asad Qaiser for his recent refusal to apologise for the violence on May 9, 2023.

He condemned Qaiser’s remarks, stating that PTI leaders had incited chaos on the day, causing disturbances across the country. He questioned Qaiser’s silence over the past year and called for accountability.

Kundi highlighted the peaceful nature of political sacrifices in Pakistan, citing the example of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s followers. He urged PTI leaders to apologise to the nation for their role in the May 9 violence.

Answering a question, he said that the former speaker of national assembly Asad Qaiser has said, “I will not even apologize to his father.”

But such words should not be uttered by him and way his party involved people in chaos is not hidden from anyone, the Governor said, adding that Imran used to say before he was arrested he nominated members of the core committee and tasks were given to them.

“Why was Asad Qaiser silent for a year, he should lead the party a year earlier,” he said. He said that people have offered sacrifices in the parties and they have sent to gallows while giving the example of former prime minister late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, now the judiciary said that he was politically assassinated but he cannot return.

He said: “Asad Qaiser should be ashamed that his party’s people have done such (May 9) harmful act. They should apologize to the nation. He has not performed any good that Asad Qaiser is saying that they will not apologize.”

He said that when Asif Ali Zardari was elected for the first time as president of Pakistan he had apologized to the people of Balochistan on behalf of the federation about their deprivation, and when he was elected for the second time, right now he has been staying in Balochistan for the last three days to resolve the various issues of the people.

About Imran Khan’s readiness to constitute a commission about sin-in 2014, he said that the commission could not be constituted according to his will. He recalled that while speaking in a stadium in America Imran Khan had said that when political leaders go to jail in Pakistan, they feel that they have gone to seven-star hotel, asking for air-conditioners, dinner and launch from outside and various other facilities.

Now, when in jail he had converted it into a seven-star hotel and a gym, he said. He said that the facilities given to him should be withdrawn if same were not provided to other prisoners as well.

The Governor laid floral wreath at the mausoleum of Capt Karnal Sher Khan and offered Fatiha for the departed soul.