INTERIOR Minister Rana Sanaullah has accused PTI chief Imran Khan of “masterminding” the violence which occurred on May 9 in reaction to his arrest in a corruption case and also claimed to have the audio clips of the former premier directly linking him to the violent demonstrations.

The PML-N leader made these allegations on the Geo News show, Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada kay Sath, on Wednesday. Mr Sanaullah called Imran Khan the ‘architect’ of the violence, which targeted military property as well.

The minister claimed the attacks on defence installations were “coordinated” as the protesters did not even “damage a traffic sign” and went straight toward the army property. He said had there been an action against Mr Khan in 2014 during his sit-in, then things wouldn’t have come to this stage.

He claimed Imran Khan was “directly linked” to these violent actions and said some of the second and third-tier leadership of the party was also “actively involved”, but most of the party leaders had not endorsed the use of violence.

According to the minister, the events of May 9 were planned by Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore over a span of one year and people were given “proper training to throw petrol bombs, use slingshots and weapons” and the government had evidence of this.

The minister further alleged that the PTI chief had the support of ‘foreign [intelligence] agencies’.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2023