Islamabad:

Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday he supported the army’s demand to punish those involved in violence on May 9 last year, in an apparent effort to mend ties with the powerful military.

Imran Khan’s arrest on corruption charges sparked violent protests, with hundreds of his supporters attacking military installations that day.

Those who launched attacks on security and civilian institutions should be punished, the Pakistan Army said in a statement after a meeting of corps commanders at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, quoting top military officials.

The military stated: “The forum promises that the planners, instigators, instigators, perpetrators and desecrations of the May 9 Martyrs Monument, as well as the attackers of military installations, will be brought to justice in accordance with the relevant provisions of the law and the Constitution. .”

Imran Khan told reporters during the hearing in the Qadeer Trust corruption case at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi that he supported the statement issued by the army after the Corps Commanders’ meeting.

“We support this declaration and hope that those involved in the violence on May 9 will be severely punished,” he said.

He said CCTV footage should be used to identify those involved, adding that those involved in the US Capitol attack were also arrested through CCTV footage.

Imran Khan also reportedly said, “No one in our party is against the army.” He asked how criticism of the election could become criticism of the military, adding that the May 9 narrative failed on February 8 because people did not believe “we had committed any treason.”

He expressed surprise as to why a judicial commission had not yet been formed into the violence of May 9 and said there was apparently no interest in conducting an independent inquiry into these tragic events.

Replying to a question, Imran Khan said that by not reserving seats for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, democracy was denied and it was unconstitutional. He said that the people of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were also deprived of their trusteeship rights in 1971, leading to the division of the country.

Imran Khan claimed that the current election was the most rigged in the country’s history and accused the caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan of committing fraud. Even those who won were aware of the fraud, he said.

He also lashed out at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, accusing them of doing a U-turn to respect the vote. He said they disrespected “the boots,” referring to the military.

He said three political parties – PNL-N, Pakistan People’s Party and Mutahidda Qaumi Movement – were the main beneficiaries of the manipulation and that was why he refused to enter into an alliance with them.

Imran Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022. More than 150 cases have been registered against him since his ouster. Imran Khan was also disqualified from holding any public office for 10 years.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)