Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the provincial police has “solid evidence” regarding plans to create another “May 9-like situation”.

“In this regard, if anyone even tries to do something like that, the reaction will be way more than that of May 9,” he warned. “We don’t want any such incidents to take place again […] we don’t want further division.”

Naqvi added that intelligence agencies had “caught telephonic conversations” regarding such plans.

It must be recalled that on May 9 — after the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan — from the Islamabad High Court, PTI workers held protests across the country. The protest, however, turned into riots with some mobs found attacking military installations. What followed was an intense crackdown on the PTI, which resulted in the party’s major leadership either exiting the PTI or going into hiding.

In response to Naqvi’s statement today, the PTI alleged that a “false-flag operation” was being planned against the party.

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