Dubs rioters as ‘terrorists’
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed on Monday that even thinking of burning Jinnah House or attacking the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters was beyond any Pakistani citizen.
In a sweeping statement made at the inaugural ceremony of the 34th National Games in Quetta, the prime minister declared all protestors and rioters of May 9 as “terrorists” and “Pakistan’s enemies”.
Shehbaz maintained that the events following deposed prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest were “heartbreaking” and those that resorted to rioting at Jinnah House, Radio Pakistan and GHQ must be punished severely. “[State’s] enemies could not do in 75 years what protestors did on May 9.”
Measures must be taken, within the confines of the law and Constitution, such that no such incident ever takes place till the day of judgment, said Shehbaz. “Such heinous acts and [any] insult to martyrs will always be condemned. May 9 will always be remembered as a black day in the country’s history.”
He vowed that those who targeted these buildings will be strictly punished under the law. “Such destructive thinking could only belong to enemies of the country.”
PM Shehbaz lamented the decades of terrorism that the country has witnessed and lauded the armed forces and law enforcement agencies for their efforts toward eliminating the same.
The premier referred to the past attacks on GHQ and the Army Public School – the perpetrators of which have yet to be brought to justice, with parents of slain children circling courts till date – and stated that the nation salutes those who faced terrorism and gave sacrifices.—APP
