ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar denied on Saturday the government was pursuing any policy that aimed at eliminating Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, though he emphasized that anyone involved in the May 9 rioting or arson attacks on state properties should face the full force of the law.
The PTI has complained of not getting a level playing field ahead of the national elections in February, saying that its leadership has been targeted since the violence of May 9 when Khan was briefly arrested on graft charges from a court in Islamabad.
Hundreds of people carrying PTI flags targeted government buildings, including a top general’s residence in Lahore and the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, leading to a crackdown that included arrests of the party’s national and provincial leaders.
Khan was incarcerated in August after being convicted by a local court in a corruption reference. He is also facing a prison trial in a case in which he has been charged with leaking state secrets. Khan has filed his nomination papers for the next elections, though his eligibility to contest them remains uncertain.
“I don’t believe the PTI as an entity should only be viewed from the prism of May 9,” the prime minister said during an interview with Hum News TV. “It is not the government’s policy to eliminate the PTI as a political entity. This is not a stated objective of the caretaker administration or anyone else. But let me repeat: The people who are involved in May 9 riots and arsons must face the law.”
He reiterated that in his personal opinion anyone involved in the “disruptive political behavior” of May 9 should not be allowed to hold public office, though he added it was his personal opinion and any such decision was up to the country’s election regulatory body.
Kakar said it would make him uneasy to see people with such “erratic behavior” entrusted with great responsibilities of the state.
He noted that he had voted twice for Khan’s PTI and defended its administration since he thought it would improve governance structure, taxation mechanism and health care system in Pakistan.
Asked if he would look into the PTI complaints that its candidates were being impeded to contest the elections, he replied in the affirmative.
“We will look into it and we will take account of such individual complaints and take action on them,” he added. “That’s what our job is.”
Pakistan PM refutes claims of targeting Imran Khan’s party, supports legal action against May 9 rioters
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Pakistan PM refutes claims of targeting Imran Khan’s party, supports legal action against May 9 rioters
- Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar says people with ‘disruptive political behavior’ should not get great responsibilities of the state
- He informs that he voted for Khan’s PTI twice and supported it since he thought it would improve governance in Pakistan
Over 200 security forces personnel killed in Balochistan militant attacks in 2025— chief minister
- Pakistani security forces launched thousands of operations, killed 760 militants, says Sarfraz Bugti
- Pakistan’s military media wing says 12 “Indian-sponsored militants” killed in Balochistan’s Kalat district
ISLAMABAD: Over 200 security forces personnel were killed in several militant attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province this year, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Sunday.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by since yet its most backward by almost all social and economic indicators, has suffered from a bloody separatist insurgency for decades launched by ethnic Baloch militant groups. The most prominent among them is the Balochistan Liberation Army.
These militant outfits accuse the military and federal government of denying the local Baloch population a share in the province’s mineral wealth, charges Islamabad denies.
“We have lost [in one year] 205 security forces personnel, including paramilitary, uniformed, police, levies, and along with that, there are six officers,” Bugti told reporters during a press conference.
The chief minister said Balochistan had witnessed 900 militant attacks throughout the year, adding that the number of civilian casualties was recorded at 280.
Bugti said security forces had also launched thousands of intelligence-based operations in 2025 against militants.
“Out of those, the terrorists who have been killed so far, that is 760,” he said.
TWELVE MILITANTS KILLED IN KALAT
Separately, the Pakistani military’s media wing said on Sunday that security forces had killed 12 “Indian-sponsored militants” in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Dec. 6.
It said the militants belonged to Indian proxy “Fitna al Hindustan,” a term the military uses frequently to describe ethnic Baloch militant groups who demand independence from Pakistan. Islamabad accuses New Delhi of arming and funding these separatist groups, charges India has always denied.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in militant attacks in recent months. Pakistan’s military said on Saturday that security forces had killed five militants in the Dera Bugti area of the province.
