ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Sunday that the May 9 attacks involving supporters of ex-PM Imran Khan were an “attempt toward mutiny or civil war,” adding that its target was Pakistan’s serving army chief and his team.
Violent protests broke out in many parts of the country on May 9 after Khan was briefly arrested on graft allegations. Enraged Khan supporters attacked government buildings and military installations, including the official residence of a serving senior army official as they blamed the army for Khan’s arrest.
After initially claiming the attack was in response to his detention, Khan claimed his supporters had largely remained peaceful and the violence was pre-planned and perpetuated by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies in their bid to clamp down on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
“According to my assessment, this was indeed an attempt toward mutiny or civil war,” Kakar said during his first exclusive interview with a private news channel.
“I think its target as a nucleus was the serving army chief and the team around him. All of them.”
Dozens of top and mid-tier leaders in the PTI have been arrested alongside hundreds of Khan supporters since May 9. Many quit the party after being released while other leaders remain on the run to avoid arrest. Khan— behind bars on corruption allegations— himself faces a slew of cases, including one for leaking state secrets, which carries the death sentence.
When asked why the government had not arrested others involved in the May 9 attacks nor ensured progress regarding the cases of those already imprisoned, Kakar said the caretaker government did not want to come across as one focused on exacting revenge.
“The due process of law will take place,” he said.
On the issue of general elections in Pakistan, the prime minister said it was the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) prerogative to announce the date for polls.
“The law of the land says that the Election Commission of Pakistan has to decide [the date],” he said.
Kakar, however, said that if the matter goes to the superior judiciary, then its decision would be “binding” on the government.
Pakistan’s PM terms May 9 attacks an ‘attempt towards civil war’
https://arab.news/b8kq6
Pakistan’s PM terms May 9 attacks an ‘attempt towards civil war’
- Pakistan’s serving army chief, and his team were target of May 9 attacks, says PM Kakar
- PM Kakar says Pakistan’s election regulator would decide date for upcoming elections
Pakistan denies canceling UAE deal, adds Islamabad airport to privatization plan
- Government refutes media reports of scrapped airport lease, says no such deal was ever concluded
- Pakistan says open bidding plan has no political or diplomatic basis and is driven by economic reasons
KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday rejected media reports that it had canceled a proposed lease arrangement for the United Arab Emirates to run Islamabad airport, saying no such deal had ever been signed, while confirming that the aviation facility in the capital has been placed in the government’s active privatization program.
The statement followed media reports suggesting that Pakistan had abandoned a government-to-government arrangement with the UAE to outsource airport operations, citing delays by Abu Dhabi in nominating an operating entity and claiming that Pakistani authorities had inferred a loss of interest.
“The Privatization Commission has noticed some misleading reports that suggest ‘canceling of any proposed agreement for Islamabad International Airport’ and strongly refutes such reports,” the commission said in a statement.
“In this context, the claim that ‘Pakistan has canceled any lease agreement with the UAE’ is contrary to the facts and misleading, as no such agreement or lease was ever signed for any of the airports including Islamabad International Airport,” it added.
The statement said the government had decided in November last year to move away from a government-to-government framework and adopt an open bidding process for airport concessions after strong investor interest.
“This decision does not have any political or diplomatic background, and is based purely on economic and procedural reasons,” it said.
As part of that process, Islamabad International Airport has now been formally included in the active privatization program under a long-term concession model, aligning it with ongoing plans for airports in Karachi and Lahore.
The government said the competitive bidding process would provide a level playing field for domestic and international investors, including those from partner countries such as the UAE, as Pakistan seeks to modernize the aviation sector and attract private investment.
