Pakistan PM Sharif Blames Imran Khan for Mayhem by His Supporters Following His Arrest

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday blamed his predecessor Imran Khan for the mayhem by his supporters following his arrest last week.

“The roots of the mutinous attack on the state, its symbols & sensitive installations on May 9 lie in the contents of Imran Niazi’s speeches over the past year. He has liberally deployed religious imagery to brand his political agitation as a war between truth & falsehood,” Sharif tweeted.

The Prime Minister was referring to the violent protests following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman on May 9 that led to several deaths and dozens of military and state installations being destroyed by the protesters.

For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and also torched the Corps Commander’s house in Lahore.

The premier said that Khan “relentlessly maligned and attacked the armed forces and the sitting Army chief and very cunningly prepared his cult with the slogans of ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ aimed at inciting them for violence we witnessed on May 9.” Sharif asked everyone to “listen to his (Khan) speeches & you will get your answers”.

In another tweet, Sharif asked the authorities to arrest those involved in violence.

“My direction to the law enforcement agencies is that they should leave no stone unturned to bring those involved in the incidents of vandalism, arson & violence to justice. At the same time, they should make sure that no innocent person gets punished,” he said.

His statement comes as police have made scores of arrests to bring to justice all those responsible for attacks on civilian and military installations.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sharif vowed to bring to justice the planners and leaders of the violent protests that targeted military installations and “disrespected martyrs” as he termed the incidents of May 9 as the “darkest chapter” in the country’s history.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)