LAHORE: Punjab Info­rma­tion Minister Azma Bokhari has said there is no need to form a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 violence as all the cases are open and shut.

“The Peshawar High Court has declared that establishing a judicial commission is illegal. The PTI members are trying to use the hammer of a judicial commission to gain relief. The incident of May 9 did not occur suddenly as it was preceded by Imran Khan’s 70 rallies, long marches, and inflammatory speeches,” Ms Bokhari told a presser here on Monday.

She criticised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Ganda­pur, stating that his sole job seemed to be pleasing his master Imran Khan. “People in KP are drowning in floods, brid­ges are collapsing, government employees have stopped working, and doctors are absent from hospitals.”

She questioned if Hassaan Niazi, Imran Khan’s nephew, was not aware of the attacks, and if Dr Yasmin Rashid or Ejaz Chaudhry didn’t inform their sons where to strike. Was it just a coincidence that only military installations or cantonments were targeted and offices set on fire in every city?

Azma says PTI using ‘hammer of commission’ to gain relief

“No one will let Imran Khan deny the attacks of May 9 incidents,” she said.

Azma Bokhari accused the PTI leaders of inciting people to leave their homes. Those who burned hospitals, toll plazas and military statues were now asking for forgiveness, she said.

She record that a ‘prisoner in Adiala Jail’ had threatened that if he was arrested again, there would be similar attacks.

Responding to a question, she said that the Jamaat-i-Islami had not received as many votes as the number of protests they had held. She said that JI chief Hafiz Nae­emur Rehman believed that protests were the sol­ution to all problems and suggested that if that was the case, they should continue with their protests.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024