ISLAMABAD    -    President Arif Alvi has said that PTI chief Im­ran Khan should openly condemn the May 9 vi­olent protests including attacks on public prop­erties and military in­stallations.

In an interview to a local private TV channel on Thursday, the presi­dent, who is a close aide of the PTI chief, called for taking action against the miscreants involved in the events.

The PTI leadership — including the party chairman — have con­demned the attacks in which the General Headquarters, Rawal­pindi, was also target­ed and called for a Su­preme Court-led probe into the events.

The violent protests were triggered after Imran Khan's arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case which led to the deaths of at least 10 people and injured several oth­ers, prompting the au­thorities to arrest thou­sands of PTI workers.

After the supporters attacked army installa­tions, the army said that May 9, 2023 — the day when chaos gripped the nation following Khan's arrest — would go down in history as a "dark chapter".

The military and the government alike have vowed to try the vandals who attacked army in­stallations under the Pakistan Army Act, Official Secrets Act, and oth­er laws. The president, in the in­terview, also added that during the trials, the suspects’ human rights should be respected and they shouldn’t be tortured. “The peo­ple involved should be punished in line with the law,” he said. The pres­ident added that the PTI chairman did not oppose the appointment of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir. “Imran Khan asked me to tell General Bajwa that he should accept anyone whom the institution approves as the next chief,” Presi­dent Alvi said.