Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday said the plan of May 9 mayhem was a joint venture of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan.
For Imran’s support, the May 9 incident was orchestrated, said Asif, addressing media in Sialkot. He added that the PTI executed the violent protests with the help of Hameed.
The statement comes a couple of days after the former spymaster was sentenced to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM), marking one of the most dramatic and consequential accountability actions against a senior military figure in Pakistan’s history.
“Imran Khan’s project began with great fanfare about 12 years ago, and even the arrangement for the PTI’s first rally in Lahore was made by covert forces,” he said.
He alleged that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was removed from power and imprisoned under a conspiracy, while the PTI founder was brought into power through rigging. “Hameed was in charge of this project and was protecting the founder’s interests. The two of them together destroyed the country, and the public knows that the founder did not fulfill his promises.”
Hameed started fully implementing the project PTI founder, Asif said, adding that the former army officer tried to support Imran even when he was serving as the corps commander.
According to Asif, Hameed began to be exposed after his transfer, and Imran was provided facilities in his capacity as a corps commander. He blamed that Hameed’s mind was behind the May 9 events and he did the planning for it, while the manpower was provided by the PTI. He clarified that the accountability of the enemies of the state will continue, whether they are in uniform or in plain clothes.