SAYS STRINGS OF MAY 9 ‘CONSPIRACY’ ATTACHED TO ABROAD; DESECRATION OF MARTYRS ON INSTIGATION OF IMRAN ‘DARKEST CHAPTER IN NATION’S HISTORY’; PERFORMS GROUNDBREAKING OF K-IV WATER SUPPLY PROJECT IN KARACHI

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized on Friday that the government of Pakistan has every right to lawfully punish the individuals responsible for the May 9 arson incidents, similar to the actions taken by the United States government against its citizens who stormed the Capitol Hill building on January 6, 2021.

“Today, in the city of Quaid, we all are ashamed of what happened on May 9 in Lahore. Justice requires punishing the perpetrators like the rioters of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. If that punishment was legal, then no one should object if we do so under our law for the desecration of our martyrs,” the prime minister said.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the K-IV water supply project in Karachi, the prime minister said the politics of chaos culminated on May 9 in the form of desecration of the nation’s martyrs, ghazis and security installations.

He said the strings of the May 9 conspiracy were attached to abroad and that the desecration of martyrs and installations on the instigation of Imran Niazi was the “darkest chapter in the nation’s history”.

Recalling his recent interaction with the family members of martyrs, the prime minister said their dear ones had rendered sacrifices for the country but the arsonists desecrated their monuments.

PM Shehbaz said that the person who always blamed others for plunders had resorted to arsons when arrested on charges of corruption.

“What kind of politics is this,” he questioned and said no political leader in the past ever instigated an attack on Jinnah House or military installations, despite having faced many difficulties.

He said the leaders of MQM and PPP, both representing Sindh, gave a message of national unity which was a must for national development. He said that the coalition government coped with huge challenges through collective wisdom, including floods, inflation, IMF and also the nefarious designs of chaotic politics which culminated on the darkest day of May 9.

Committing to revive Pakistan’s lost grandeur, the prime minister lamented the unnecessary delay in the K-IV project that was meant to provide drinking water to millions of people in Karachi.

PM Shehbaz asked the relevant ministries to provide uninterrupted funding to ensure the project’s completion without further delay.

He said that the project was “most important” for him because the people of Quaid’s city were deprived of drinking water despite it being a city with the highest revenue generation and taxation.

The prime minister assured that he would put the project a top priority in the upcoming budget and provide maximum funds for its early completion.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the prime minister was keenly focusing on the development of Sindh, particularly Karachi.

He said the two major political parties of Karachi voted for the prime minister and his government enjoyed “super majority” in Sindh.

He said the people of Sindh also pinned hopes on the prime minister for the resolution of their issues.

Bilawal said K-IV project faced immense delay and that Karachi needed “Shehbaz Speed” for the resolution of its issues.