THIS is with reference to report ‘No negotiations without apology, army tells PTI’ (May 8). The military spokesman justifiably lambasted the political party and its top leadership for involvement in May 9 incidents.

It is ridiculous that some leaders of the party in question have been proposing that their incarcerated leader wants to reconcile with the military establishment, but not with other political parties, particularly with those currently in power. The proposal was rightly rejected by the army spokesperson.

The reaction from the army was logical, for the said party has been striving hard to malign the state and the country abroad. It wrote to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), insisting that a bailout package should not be released before an audit of the Feb 8 elections was carried out. The military is also rightly critical of the party’s act of hiring lobbying firms to destabilise the country through coercive tactics.

Keeping these irrefutable facts and the despicable role played by the despotic and megalomaniac leadership of the party, it is imperative, rather inevitable, to take the perpetrators, the facilitators and planners of the anti-state riots to justice. Their prosecution process needs to be expedited, which is currently going on at a snail’s pace.

There is another important aspect which is missing from the current discourse. The role played by certain national media outlets and social media ‘influencers’ on that infamous day must also be proceeded against.

Keeping in view the track record of the said political cult, it is now clear that the party has no other agenda or political manifesto except creating rifts and conflicts among the people of Pakistan. There is no need to extend an olive branch to such anarchists, anti- state elements and their top leadership.

Sajjad Khattak
Attock

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2024