Fawad Chaudhry terms May 9 events ‘shameful’, calls for inquiry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday condemned the events of May 9 – the day party chairman Imran Khan was arrested, terming them ‘shameful’, ARY News reported.

Talking to journalists outside Islamabad High Court (IHC), the former federal minister condemned the events of May 9, particularly ‘vandalism at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and Lahore Corps Commander House.

Fawad Chaudhry said that an inquiry should be conducted into the matter and those found involved should be given strict punishment.

The PTI leader – who was at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) since morning – left the court premises around 15 minutes before midnight.

Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) barred police from arresting PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry in an “undisclosed” case for two days.

After avoiding arrest moments after his release, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry managed to get relief as a single-member IHC bench of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb barred the police from arresting the former in an “undisclosed” case.

The Punjab Police attempted to arrest PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry from outside the Islamabad High Court. However, Fawad Chaudhry managed to escape from their grasp and swiftly made his way back into the courtroom.

‘Independent commission’

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanded an ‘independent commission’ to investigate the May 9 events – the day party chairman Imran Khan was arrested in Al-Qadir Trust Case.

The meeting demanded the formation of an ‘independent commission’ to investigate the May 9 events – which included ‘incidents of arson, vandalism, chaos and violence’ – following the arrest of the former prime minister.

The statement noted that evidence has emerged that ‘arsonists were planted to provoke peaceful protestors on May 9’. “These people [arsonists] were dressed in plain clothes and their identities are unknown”, it added.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan asserted that he would prove that arsonists were planted to provoke peaceful protestors on May 9.

Taking to Twitter, the former prime minister shared a video from his old televised address, insisting that he had exposed “the plan” to incite violence amid peaceful protests on March 22 after the attack on Islamabad judicial complex (IJC).

“I recorded this on the 22nd of March after my attempted assassination in the Islamabad judicial complex on the 18th,” Imran Khan wrote.

“Whenever there is an independent inquiry I will prove that those who had guns and those who committed arson were planted amongst the demonstrators just as they were going to do in the plan I uncovered here in this video message,” said Imran Khan.

Protests

Violent clashes broke out across Pakistan after former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.

The protests were held in remote and major cities as the party workers are agitated due to their chairman’s arrest, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order.

Army installations and Corps Commander’s house in Lahore came under attack during a protest of PTI workers.