Yasmin Rashid ‘central character’ in May 9 protests: CM Naqvi

LAHORE: Interim Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, stated that during the violent riots on May 9, the rioters aimed to set fire to planes at the Pakistan Air Force Base (PAF) M.M. Alam in Mianwali. He noted that the majority of people in Mianwali were armed and that the incident was an attack on Pakistan. It should be noted that the rioters attacked the Mianwali Air Base on May 9, which is named after the 1965 war hero Muhammad Mahmood Alam, also known as MM Alam.

According to Naqvi, PTI rioters burned 108 cars and 26 buildings and damaged safe city cameras. He held a press conference with the Punjab Inspector General and Chief Secretary at the CM House in Lahore, where he revealed that PTI woman leader Yasmin Rashid was the key player in the attack on Jinnah House.

Naqvi stated that approximately 3400 people were present outside the Jinnah House, while around 400 people were present inside, also known as Corps Commander House. He pledged to hold those responsible for the May 9 incidents accountable and claimed that it was a pre-planned and coordinated attack on public and army installations. Naqvi also mentioned that two metro stations worth a billion rupees were burnt to ashes.

He criticized Zalmay Khalilzad, who he claimed was a paid person that had been tweeting paid posts against Pakistan. He confirmed that the police were instructed not to open fire shots at any place and to act within the law if someone trespassed in a government building. Naqvi acknowledged that the police also complained about facing stones.

The Punjab CM mentioned that advertisements in newspapers were well-received by the public and that the government had started depositing Rs0.2 million and Rs0.5 million on tip-off information. He assured that if anyone had been arrested by mistake, they would be released from jail. The Punjab chief executive stated that it was his mistake to stop police personnel from firing bullets, but that if someone attacked a government building, the police would use force according to the law.

Furthermore, Rawalpindi Capital City Police Office (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani, addressing the media, informed that 276 people involved in violent mob attacks on public buildings had been arrested. He added that the police had lodged 17 FIRs and that a person who used petrol to torch the General Headquarters (GHQ) gate had been arrested via video footage. Hamdani disclosed that protesters wanted to uproot GHQ main gate and that 26 accused involved in the GHQ attacks were presented before media persons on Sunday.