In response to the violent protests that followed the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on May 9, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
This call to action was made during a Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of the PPP at Bilawal House on Friday. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari co-chaired the meeting. They described May 9 as a “dark day in Pakistan’s history.”
PPP’s Federal Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, addressed the media following the meeting, emphasizing the need for legal action against those responsible for the violent incidents and destruction on May 9.
Rehman accused PTI leaders of instigating the acts of violence and arson following Khan’s arrest, then subsequently denying their role in the ensuing chaos.
She labeled PTI leaders as skilled at making political U-turns and said such violence levels were unparalleled in Pakistan’s history. She also highlighted that PPP supporters have never resorted to such actions, even during extremely challenging times.
Rehman mentioned that her party remained peaceful even following the assassination of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. She recalled Zardari’s consistent calls for national unity during difficult periods.
Rehman criticized the PTI’s political approach, alleging they prioritized their political longevity over Pakistan’s stability. In addition, she claimed that PTI had overstepped certain boundaries in the political landscape.
In the briefing, Rehman noted that meeting participants completely trusted Bilawal and Zardari’s leadership.
In a Twitter message, Bilawal expressed his condemnation of the “May 9 havoc” and voiced his party’s concerns about the ongoing digital census.
The meeting also addressed concerns about the digital census process currently underway in the country. Participants called for uniform standards for population enumeration across the country, noting the inconsistency that while the census is still ongoing in some areas, it has already concluded in others.
