ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Sunday said the recent violent protests in different parts of the country were pre-planned by Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in case its chairman was arrested in the Rs60bn corruption case.

The interior minister at a joint presser with Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb said even the fighter jet of Pakistan’s national hero and a pride of Pakistan, Air Commodore Mohammad Mehmood Alam, better known as M.M. Alam, was set on fire.

He alleged that people were given the targets where to stage protests on the day of PTI chief’s arrest and afterwards. “We have no idea if these are the trained terrorists who had been given proper training during the last eight months. PTI workers were trained how to set the things on fire,” he said.

The minister said he thought they were political workers who would stage protests and return, but the situation was quite scary. Such people did not deserve an iota of tolerance, he added.

Even fighter jet of national hero torched during protests, Sanaullah says

While there were demands that the PTI should be banned, particularly after the ransacking of sensitive installations and public and private properties, slapping a ban on any political party required due legal process, Mr Sanaullah said.

“This man tries to make the whole nation fool after all these incidents,” he remarked. He reminded the nation that Mr Khan was pursuing politics of hatred and asked citizens to “minus Imran” by using the power of their vote.

Mr Sanaullah said the PTI chief had deceived even his cabinet for the Rs60bn corruption, which was unearthed during investigation in Al-Qadir Trust case. He also regretted that the bails granted to Mr Khan were ‘unprecedented’.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2023