May 9 Accountability Incomplete Until Planners Are Caught: Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has stressed that justice for the May 9 violence will remain unfinished until the masterminds behind the tragic events are apprehended. He criticized the delays in delivering swift justice, asserting that such postponements only embolden the accused and their facilitators.

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Khawaja Asif reacted to the sentencing of 25 individuals involved in the May 9 attacks, handed down by military courts. The sentences, given by the Field General Court Martial, range up to 10 years.

Asif emphasized that while the law had reached the “necks of the workers who were used,” the masterminds behind the attacks had yet to face justice. He urged that the series of accountability should not end until those responsible for planning the violence are held accountable.

The minister also condemned the glorification of those who insulted martyrs and ghazis, asserting that failing to denounce the violence of that day amounted to tacit approval of such acts.

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The events of May 9 were sparked by protests following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case. Supporters of Khan’s party, PTI, led protests that escalated into widespread unrest. Demonstrators targeted military and civilian installations, causing extensive damage across the country, including the burning of the PML-N office and government properties in Lahore’s Model Town.