PM Shehbaz reiterates pledge to bring May 9 rioters to justice

KARACHI: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday asserted that the ‘disrespect of martyrs and ghazis’ and attack on military installations on May 9 was intolerable, reiterating his firm resolve to bring all the perpetrators to face the law, ARY News reported.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of K-IV water supply project in Karachi, the prime minister said that no one should object if 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 for what happened on May 9 in Lahore. The justice requires to punish the perpetrators like the rioters of 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,” he said.

PM Shehbaz said the strings of the May 9 conspiracy were attached to abroad and that the desecration of martyrs and installations on the instigation of Imran Niazi was the darkest chapter in the nation’s history.

Recalling his recent interaction with the family members of martyrs, the prime minister 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 Jinnah 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, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and also the nefarious designs 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.

PM Shehbaz Sharif 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 a 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.

‘Shehbaz Speed’

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the prime minister was keenly focusing the development of Sindh, particularly Karachi.

He said the two major political parties of Karachi voted the prime minister and his government enjoyed “super majority” in Sindh. He said the people of Sindh also pinned hopes at the prime minister for resolution of their issues.

Bilawal said K-IV project faced immense delay and that Karachi needed “Shehbaz Speed” for resolution of its issues.

Regarding the floods, the foreign minister said the concerted efforts were needed for rehabilitation of the people in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, South Punjab and other areas, including the metropolises.

He said around 52 percent of Sindh’s educational infrastructure had been damaged by the floods impacting the education of around 47 percent population.

Bilawal Bhutto said the leaders of the PPP, MQM and other parties also faced jails and other hardships but they always stood for the democracy, without resorting to the violence.