May 9th, 2023 and December 16th 1971 two dates that will live in infamy in the short but turbulent history of Pakistan. Exactly one year has passed since the tragic and gory happenings of 9th May. Nothing seems to have changed during the last one year. Today the PTI and the security establishment are still daggers drawn and the intensity of animosity and hatred seems to have increased even more than what it was a year ago.
Both the antagonists seem to be very rigid and uncompromising in their original stance and are in no way prepared to reconsider even in the greater national interest. In a recent press conference the DG ISPR stated categorically that there can be no dialogue with the leader of the PTI without an apology and condemnation of their politics of anarchy and hate. The PTI spokesperson immediately addressed a press conference and bitterly criticized the statement of the DG calling it a “pack of lies” and “full of contradictions”.
Nobody can deny the fact that the violence and hatred demonstrated at military installations and symbols all over the country was a direct result of narrative built up by the PTI after the ouster of their Govt. During the fateful day of May 9th the Corp Commander house in Lahore was ransacked, Radio station Peshawar was set on fire, Mian wali airbase was attacked, GHQ in Rawalpindi was targeted, statues of the national heroes were trampled underfoot and some buildings of army institutions were attacked and set on fire.Leaders of the PTI had been indoctrinating their workers and supporters that the arrest of their leader is the “red line” or point of no return and they had continued with their dubious propaganda of an international conspiracy headed by the USA in league with the security establishment for a regime change in Pakistan. The social media team of the PTI was very successful in creating a toxic and combustible mix of a narrative so that when their leader was arrested from the premises of Islamabad high court the entire country exploded in bloody violence and mayhem led by the PTI leaders and supporters.
About time that the PTI leadership should accept and acknowledge their mistakes and admit that they behaved in a very irresponsible or reckless manner devoid of any political maturity. They encouraged and motivated their workers to act in a very unacceptable and anti-national manner. The establishment struck back with full force. Thousands were arrested and jailed and it was a scene of unelected forces exerting their influence in the legislative and administrative branches of the country.
The security agencies acted without restraint and cracked down with extreme measures reminiscent of the days of absolute dictatorships in the country. Homes of many PTI supporters were raided and vandalized, some residents were harassed and brutalized by state agencies. Women supporters of PTI were denied their right to bail and locked up without trial in many dubious cases. As of today the bitter antagonism between the PTI and the establishment is the main reason and the root cause of the severe political instability in the country. Now that both sides are rigid and inflexible in their stance the Federal Govt. should take the initiative and use all resources at its command to prosecute the 9th May accused in civilian courts and bring this issue to an end by ensuring a transparent judicial process according to the law of the land.
The bitter antagonism between the two sides that is the PTI and the establishment is perpetuating the tensions between them. It is in vital national interest that this case is settled satisfactorily so that the nation may move forward. No two opinions about the fact that the sad and ugly spectacle of 9th May should never have happened. Fact of the matter is that the national armed forces deserve the respect and love of the citizens of Pakistan.
The need of the time is that a high powered judicial commission should be formed to probe the 9th May incidents and this commission should also look intothe 2014 dharna and who was behind it. Pakistan needs to move forward and solve its economic and political problems at the earliest.
The comprehensive report by this commission should not end up like the Hamood Ur Rahman Commission report or the Abbottabad Commission report but the perpetrators of 9th May should be identified, exposed prosecuted and brought to justice in the best interest of the country and the nation.
The PTI founder spoke to the media after the 190 million pounds corruption case in the Adiala jail and categorically refused to tender any apology for the 9th May riots he pleaded that he was behind bars at that time and was totally unaware of any happenings in the country and was informed only when he appeared before the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial and he added “I have already condemned those violent protests” he went on to say that since the establishment is not interested in any dialogue so I will not ask for it.
The party secretary general and leader f the opposition in the National assembly Omar Ayub Khan in a statement termed the 9th May violence as a crude attempt and a conspiracy to target Imran Khan and went on to say that his party has a one point agenda and that is the supremacy of the constitution and the law in the country and that the constitution also restricts the armed forces not to interfere in political affairs. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that “public movements take place at a time when martial laws are imposed and the Constitution is suspended”.
He alleged that the Constitution was practically eliminated in the country. He strongly rejected the notion of the Imran-founded party involved in anti-state conspiracies. He added that such allegations against the PTI would be tantamount to misleading the nation.
.—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
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