Profit PAKISTAN TO PUNISH MAY 9 ARSONISTS AS US DID TO CAPITOL RIOTERS, SAYS PM

� CALLS DESECRATION OF MARTYRS MEMORIALS, INSTALLATIONS DARKEST CHAPTER IN NATION’S HISTORY

KARACHI S TA F F R E P O R T

PRIME Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that no one should object if the government of Pakistan punished the arsonists of May 9 as per law the way the United States had done to its citizens for storming the Capitol building on January 6, 2021

“Today, in the city of Quaid, we all are ashamed of what happened on May 9 in Lahore Justice requires to punish the perpetrators like the rioters of the Capitol building on January 6 2021 If that punishment was legal then no one should object if we do so under our law for the desecration of our martyrs, the PM said

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of K-IV water supply project here the PM said the politics of political chaos culminated on May 9 in the form of the desecration of the nation s martyrs Ghazis and security installations

He said the strings of the May 9 riots were attached to abroad and that the desecration of martyrs and installations on the instigation of Imran Khan was the darkest chapter in the nation s history

Recalling his recent interaction with the family members of martyrs, the PM said their dear ones had rendered sacrifices for the country but the arsonists desecrated their monuments

The prime minister said the person who always blamed others for plunders had resorted to arsons when arrested on charges of corruption

What kind of politics is this, he questioned and said no political leader in the past ever instigated an attack on Jin-

� SAYS COALITION GOVERNMENT COPED WITH HUGE CHALLENGES

of chaotic politics which culminated on the darkest day of May 9

Committing to revive Pakistan s lost grandeur, the prime minister lamented the unnecessary delay in the K-IV project that was meant to provide drinking water to millions of the Karachi people Prime Minister Shehbaz asked the relevant ministries to provide uninterrupted funding to ensure project s completion without further delay

He said the project was most important” for him because the people of Quaid’s city, were deprived of the drinking water despite it being a city with the highest revenue generation and taxation

The prime minister assured that he would put the project at top priority in the upcoming budget and provide maximum funds for its early completion

‘Interference in judiciary’s affairs’: SC suspends Audio leaks commission notification

ISLAMABAD

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday stopped the proceedings of the judicial commission constituted to probe audio leaks and suspended the notification issued by the federal government regarding the judicial commission

The Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial observed that formation of the government-appointed judicial commission to probe audio leaks surfaced on social media over the last few months interfered in the judiciary s internal matters

The top judge passed these remarks as a five-judge bench heard a set of four petitions moved by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Shahid Zuberi SCBA Secretary Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir

PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Advocate Riaz Hanif Rahi seeking to declare the constitution of the audio commission illegal

The bench comprised CJP Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed nah House or military installations despite having faced many difficulties

He said the leaders of MQM and PPP – both representing Sindh – gave a message of national unity which was a must for national development

He said the coalition government coped with huge challenges through collective wisdom, including floods, inflation, IMF and also the nefarious designs

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the prime minister was keenly focusing the development of Sindh particularly Karachi

Imran can be tried in militar y cour ts: Sanaullah

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Friday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s possible trial in connection with the May 9 mayhem falls under the jurisdiction of military courts

In a presser he said the Pakistan Army Act was applicable to all those who entered sent other people or abetted those who entered restricted areas

Sanaullah said the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act were applicable to activities in military areas The Jinnah House is the residence of the [Lahore] corps commander and his camp office Many sensitive items were also present in Jinnah House ” The minister was referring to the attack on the Jinnah

Jahangir Tareen decides to establish new political par t y

LAHORE

S TA F F R E P O R T

After remaining out of the scene Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf s (PTI) estranged leader Jahangir Khan Tareen has decided to form a new national-level political party”, sources privy to the development told

According to the sources PTI leaders upset with the party are also expected to join the new setup Apart from those many political families from Dera Ghazi Khan Rajanpur Muzzafargarh Lodhran and Multan are expected to join hands with Tareen

The sources claimed that many important leaders from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have also contacted the former PTI leader Sources shared that Tareen will be patron-in-chief of the party Tareen was the secretary general of the PTI before he was ousted from politics in 2017 after the Supreme Court disqualified him for being dishonest on a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Hanif Abbasi Abbasi had approached the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Tareen However despite the disqualification Tareen remained part of PTI and was crucial in wooing independent lawmakers to join the Imran Khan-led party after the 2018 elections His efforts proved critical as they helped Khan secure the prime ministership in 2018

But after coming to power Tareen and PTI leader Aleem Khan’s relationship with the PTI turned sour

In May 2022 the former prime minister revealed the reason behind his differences with both leaders and said that both were seeking illegal benefits from him

Speaking during a podcast, Khan claimed that differences with both estranged leaders developed when he refused to entertain their requests

“Aleem Khan expected me to legalise his 300-acre land near Ravi Khan said adding from then onwards I developed differences with him

While talking about Tareen, Khan said: Tareen stood with those who are the biggest dacoits in the country

When I ordered a probe into the matter [sugar scandal], differences developed with Tareen ”

House by enraged PTI workers on May 9 following Khan s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case During the days-long protest, private and public properties were vandalised in cities across the country and PTI workers also attacked military installations including the Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) entrance

The military has dubbed May 9 a Black Day and insisted that all those involved in the vandalism of military installations would be tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir has said the legal process in this regard has been started