The Army Chief made these statements, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), to the soldiers and officers of the Garrison at Corps Headquarters in Lahore.
According to General Syed Asim Munir, May 9, 2023, would always be remembered as a dark day in Pakistan’s history because on that day, ‘deliberately indoctrinated and insidiously guided miscreants’ attacked the symbols of the state.
“Due to these deplorable acts of criminally orchestrated violence, enemies of Pakistan were provided the opportunity to mock the state and the nation. COAS deplored that now the same plotters were brazenly and shamelessly trying to twist the narrative and implicate the state in this despicable endeavour,” he said, according to ARY News.
Notably, it was during the May 9 riots, military installations were attacked by ‘PTI workers’ after the arrest of the former prime minister Imran Khan.
The Army Chief made it plain that those who pose as victims and claim to be “real leaders” will be held responsible for their acts, especially if there is unquestionable proof of their involvement and collaboration in sabotage and organised violence. “Our patience not to respond, to daily provocations in this regard made in brazen violation of the constitution, has limits and it must never be misconstrued as weakness,” the Army Chief said.
