ISLAMABAD: Senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif remarked on Thursday that the May 9 events would not have occurred if the two sit-ins—one in 2014 and the other in 2017—had not been planned. This comment reiterates the claim that the aforementioned activities were supported by influential circles.
Additionally, he recommended that the inquiry commission looking into the 2017 Faizabad sit-in, which not only paralyzed the PML-N administration at the time but also the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, conduct open hearings.
Following the third disqualification and removal of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, which has since been overturned by court rulings, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi led the government at that time.
It is generally accepted that influential circles supported the sit-in organized by the late Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s TLP (Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan), with the intention of undermining the PML-N government’s standing and legitimacy.
The PML-N leader stated in messages on social networking platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “I believe that the May 9 tragedy would not have occurred” if the PTI former chairman’s sit-in and a subsequent one in Faizabad had not been planned.
He pointed out that the anti-state forces gained enough momentum to launch an attack on the state and undermine its foundation.
Khawaja Asif advised to continue arguing that the public ought to be aware of the misgovernance the nation has experienced over the previous 75 years [because to conspiracies].
He regretted that none of the commissions that had been established in Pakistan before had created any outcomes or shared their conclusions with the public. “Now is the moment for us to acknowledge our transgressions and make amends.”
The leader of the PML-N told the crowd that although he had appeared before the inquiry panel on Thursday, his interview was not yet over. He said it would soon be over.
In his recorded statement to the inquiry commission last week, former spymaster Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed denied any conspiracy against the then PML-N government regarding the events surrounding the Faizabad sit-in. He said that he had discussions with the TLP regarding government directives.
When the sit-in took place, Faiz was the director general of counterintelligence for the ISI, the top spy organization in Pakistan. Later, he took over as the organization’s leader after the existing army chief, Gen. Asim Munir, was ousted from his position by the PTI founding chairman, who also served as the nation’s prime minister.
He had already been issued a second notice since he had disregarded the first and had not shown up for interrogation.
On January 3, the inquiry committee also called on PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who at the time was the chief minister of Punjab. However, Sharif asked that the questionnaire that had been prepared for him be made public so that he could respond in-depth.
It has previously conducted interviews with Ahsan Iqbal, the interior minister in Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s cabinet, and the then-prime minister.
