The state should take strict action against the perpetrators of May 9 riots, however, civilians must not be tried under the Army Act, said PPP Senator Raza Rabbani on Tuesday.

“It is therefore essential that the state must act sternly, and the state must enforce its writ. But there is a caveat to that,” he said during a Senate session. “Everything must be done within the rule of law.”

He was referring to the May 9 riots when violent protests broke out in the country following the arrest of the PTI chief Imran Khan. Protesters torched public and military installations.

The government began detaining PTI leadership and workers under Section 3 of the Maintenance of the Public Order.

The military officials also vowed to bring the arsonists, who attacked the civil and military installations, to justice through trial under relevant laws of the country, including Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.

The special Corps Commanders Conference condemned on May 15 the politically motivated and instigated incidents against military installations; and public and private properties.

“By taking actions, don’t create monsters and don’t create heroes of vandals. If you will take such measures, you will make heroes out of those who perpetrated terrorism and get them sympathy votes,” said Rabbani.

He expressed disappointment over the passing of a resolution in the National Assembly, in which the government called for a military trial of the protesters who attacked military installations and state buildings.

“Today, we are experiencing the fallouts of the results of a failed rebellion against the state. The political instability today is giving rise to economic stability,” he said.

“In my opinion, the way forward is the immediate return to constitutionalism,” Rabbani said, “today, the Constitution exists … but the judiciary has its own interpretation of it, Parliament it’s own and the executive its own.”

He said: “We have done these experiments before and they were unsuccessful. Don’t repeat these experiments. Stop creating test-tube political parties. Let political forces take the course that history has destined for them.”

He also demanded an increase in the development fund for Balochistan in the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24.

Rabbani said that the federal government had committed to giving grants to Sindh after the floods last year. “But Sindh has not received that grant to this day.”