Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, will be tried in a military court for the May 9 riots in which eight people died and 290 were wounded. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party members launched attacks on army installations and government and public properties after the National Accountability Bureau arrested Khan earlier this month. At least 1,900 protesters were arrested as they clashed with pro-government protesters and police. The PTI cadres stormed the home of a corps commander in Lahore and tore down a gate of General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan’s interior minister, Rana Sanaullah, accused Khan of inciting the attacks and said that he personally carried out the planning of the attacks on the army installations a day before his arrest. Sanaullah said all planning by Khan and PTI was done before he was taken into NAB custody. Sanaullah alleged that Khan should be tried in a military court. PTI leader Omar Ayub doubted Sanaullah’s ‘cognitive abilities’ and said that he has become “unhinged” in a tweet.
The Punjab Police earlier this week claimed that Imran and his close aides planned and coordinated efforts to storm the residence of the Lahore corps commander and other buildings while citing a geo-fencing report. They said over 400 calls were made by the PTI chairman and other senior leaders to allegedly incite party workers to move towards the Pakistan army officer’s residence in Lahore Cantt, and other sensitive public buildings. Their report said the rioters were in contact with PTI top brass who were passing orders from Zaman Park.
