Formation Commanders send a clear message to PTI and its facilitators

Bring the planners, perpetrators, abettors, and facilitators of May 9 riots to justice

In a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) after the conclusion of two daylong meeting of Formation commanders, the Formation Commanders Conference has sent a clear message to the PTI leadership and its facilitators. The Formation Commanders reiterated its call for bringing the planners, perpetrators, abettors, and facilitators of May 9 riots to justice for the "collective good of the country".

The conference maintained stability in the country will remain hostage to the machinations of such elements if there is no swift and transparent dispensation of justice to the culprits and the rule of law, said a statement released by the military's media wing.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's forum was presided over by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir and attended by Corps Commanders, Principal Staff Officers, and all Formation Commanders of Pakistan Army — comes weeks after the country observed the completion of a year to the violent riots that ravaged the nation, harming the sanctity of state institutions, on May 9, 2023.

The riots followed Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's arrest on the aforementioned date during which party workers protested and took to the streets across the country, damaging public and private property. But the PTI leadership never accepted responsibility for My 09 riots.

During the forum, the military leadership underscored that politically motivated and vested digital terrorism, unleashed by conspirators duly abetted by their foreign cohorts, against state institutions is clearly meant to try to induce despondency in the Pakistani nation, to sow discord among national institutions, especially the Armed Forces, and the people of Pakistan by peddling blatant lies, fake news, and propaganda.

"However, the nation is fully cognisant of their ugly and ulterior motives and surely the designs of these nefarious forces will be comprehensively defeated, InshaAllah," said the forum.

The ISPR statement is self-explanatory. The Military leadership has made it clear that stability and security of Pakistan is directly linked with the convictions of May 09 rioters. This means that there are little chances of any deal or negotiations with PTI are not on the agenda at the moment.

This statement came in response to the hard hitting messages were spread through the social media. The military top commanders have strongly reacted to the comparisons made between the current situation in the country and what happened in 1971. PTI leadership draw the parallel between the separation of East Pakistan now Bangladesh with current political situation.

The PTI is accusing the military establishment for the separation of East Pakistan. The PTI is also accusing the current military leadership for the political instability in the country. It seems that tension is not receding between PTI and powers that be. It seems that PTI continues with its bulling strategy to put pressure on the military leadership to make compromise. But this strategy is not working well for PTI. PTI continue to make one mistake after the other. 

                                                                                       Khalid Bhatti