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.