In Lahore, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) released its findings on Thursday, pointing to Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and various levels of the party’s leadership, including central, provincial, and local figures, as the architects behind the events that unfolded on May 9. The JIT concluded that they had reached a consensus to attack Jinnah House.
The investigative team, which had been established to look into the events of May 9 under the oversight of DIG Investigation Imran Kishwar, compiled a report detailing their findings. This report was subsequently presented to an anti-terrorism court, where Imran Khan and senior PTI leaders were found guilty of inciting the May 9 events by spreading false narratives.
According to the JIT’s report, Imran Khan, along with the cooperation of PTI’s central, provincial, and local leadership, devised a plan aimed at pushing Pakistan into a state of civil unrest. They achieved this by disseminating fabricated and self-generated stories to incite the public.
The PTI allegedly leveraged its influence to serve its own interests, pressuring high-ranking military officials, federal and provincial governments, to resign. Imran Khan supposedly ignited public anger through a fabricated narrative suggesting that the armed forces were engaged in political manipulation to remove him from power, and even hinted at potential harm, comparing his situation to the assassination of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.
The top PTI leadership continued this strategy by attempting to divide the armed forces, encouraging lower-ranked officers to disobey their superiors. At times, even police officers were threatened, warning them that interference in the public’s choice of government would result in treatment similar to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). This misinformation campaign spanned various media and social platforms.
Under the guise of advocating for freedom and jihad, the public was presented with false imagery. They were incited to attack government institutions under the pretext of peaceful protests. The JIT stated that there was substantial evidence pointing to Imran Khan and his top leadership’s culpability for inciting the public against the armed forces, thereby endangering the nation.
Protests erupted following Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, in the Al-Qadir Trust case, and these protests continued for three consecutive days.
PTI supporters, acting on the instructions of the party leadership, targeted Jinnah House, GHQ building, Core Headquarters, ISI offices, airbases, state installations, monuments dedicated to the martyred, Askari Tower, Military Library, residences of armed forces officers, army selection center, petrol stations, set public properties on fire, and attacked several other sensitive locations associated with the armed forces.
The top PTI leadership was allegedly involved either through phone calls or messages, directing the public via social media messages and video clips to reach these sensitive areas, including Jinnah House.
Geofencing data for individuals like Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Hammad Azhar, Mehmoodur Rasheed, Ijaz Chaudhry, Mian Alsam Iqbal, and Murad Ras indicated their involvement with the PTI workers.
Investigations revealed that they were engaged both before and after the attacks on these sensitive places. Geofencing reports and call detail records (CDRs) demonstrated that several suspects initially present at Zaman Park were later located at Jinnah House during the time of the attack.
Following the completion of their investigation, the JIT filed charges in 11 out of 14 total cases, naming Umar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Rasheed, Yasmin, and media activists Khadija Shah, Sanam Javed, Tayaba Raja, Alia Hamza, and others as guilty parties.
Separate FIRs were registered against them, including charges related to causing a disturbance in law and order, creating chaos, attacking Jinnah House, setting Askari Tower ablaze, attacking Shadman police station, and damaging public properties in response to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.