KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), while condemning the violent incidents that happened in the country on May 9, 2023 following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, has demanded the elements involved in the violence should be taken to task. 

The demand was made at the meeting of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan People’s Party held at the Bilawal House on Friday. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari jointly chaired the meeting, which termed May 9, 2023, a black day in the history of Pakistan.

Briefing the media persons after the CEC meeting, PPP leader and Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said that the participants of the meeting had reposed full confidence in the leadership of Bilawal and Asif Ali Zardari. The meeting also rejected the ongoing process of the digital census in the country while demanding that uniform standards should be adopted for the enumeration of the population all over the country.

The CEC meeting took notice of the situation that the census process was still continuing in some areas, while the enumeration exercise had been concluded in the rest parts of the country.

The meeting also praised the services of Bilawal as foreign minister as owing to his efforts, the country was able to overcome the situation of diplomatic isolation. It said that Pakistan’s stature in the international community had increased due to Bilawal’s recent participation in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held in India. The meeting also appreciated the efforts of Bilawal to highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level.

Sherry Rehman said the violent incidents of May 9 had been unprecedented in the history of Pakistan, adding that the followers of the PPP had never resorted to such violent acts despite facing enormous hard times.

She noted that such a reaction hadn’t been shown by the followers of the PPP even after the martyrdom of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

She recalled that former president Asif Ali Zardari had always raised the slogan in favour of the unity and cohesion of Pakistan whenever the country faced hard times.

She criticised the method of politics of PTI, stating that the PTI leadership had always cared for their own political survival instead of caring about the integrity of Pakistan.

Rehman said the PTI had crossed the red lines in the politics of Pakistan.

Answering a question, she said that the law should come into force to take the due punitive action against the miscreants involved in arson attacks and violence on May 9.

She said the PTI leaders had given orders to perpetrate acts of violence and commit arson attacks in the country following the arrest of Imran Khan as later they refused to accept the responsibility for the troubled situation that evolved in the country.

She said the PTI leaders were the masters of taking the U-turn in politics.