Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Thursday rebutted a news report claiming Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir had sought an apology over the May 9, 2023 riots, reiterating the perpetrators should be “held accountable.”
This past week, senior editor for Daily Jang Suhail Warraich had penned a series of columns claiming the Army chief had told him during an interview in Brussels that “political reconciliation” is only possible after a sincere apology. While he did not specify who the Army chief was referring to, the general consensus has been that he was referring to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, seemingly validated by a follow-up column that urged Khan to apologize and pave way for reconciliation.
Since the May 9, 2023 riots, several political leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) have also indicated that a “sincere apology” from Khan could ease his legal woes.
“Neither did the Army chief make any political statement in Brussels, nor did he mention any apology,” Gen. Chaudhry told journalists after an event in Islamabad. He also maintained that the Army chief had said “nothing” about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during the event.
“May 9 is not only the military’s case but the nation’s case,” he continued. “It is clear that those who carried out May 9, their enablers and planners should be held accountable as per the law,” he said, echoing remarks he had voiced at a press conference last year.
“There were hundreds of people present at the Brussels event. Those attending the event had their pictures taken with the field marshal,” he said, as journalists pointed to a picture of Warraich with the Army chief. According to the military spokesman, Pakistan has the capability of changing the region’s fate, citing this as the reason the country is “frequently” attacked. “The youth should understand the legacy and history of their ideological state,” he said.
On terrorism, Gen. Chaudhry emphasized the need to fully implement the 2014 National Action Plan against terrorism. “Only the first point of the National Action Plan is being fully implemented. The other 13 points are also necessary to fill the governance gap,” he said. “The Army, police and the law enforcement agencies are filling the governance gaps by [paying with] their blood on a daily basis,” he said, adding that if the country expelled all illegal Afghans involved in crimes, it would cause problems for both some “political” as well as “criminal” figures.