Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the violent protests of May 9 were an attempt to topple the army.

Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Shehbaz said that the the conspiracy was hatched and led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

He said that the protests involved men, women, political workers as well as men from the military and their families. He said that the target was the army and the army chief.

He added that those involved in the conspiracy wanted to see ‘anarchy’ and ‘civil war’ in the country.

The claims are a first from the prime minister himself but have been made by members of his party before.

In June, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had told Aaj News that he considered May 9 to be a ‘mutiny’ that was foiled.

“I would define it as a mutiny, which failed. I would say it was against the state,” he said.

In response to the question of whether it was a coup against the chief of army staff, Asif said that he believes it was against the state of Pakistan. “If the target were Pakistan’s armed forces, I don’t think there is any difference between Pakistan’s armed forces and the state.”

He had also said that Imran Khan had planned the revolt based on his ‘popularity’ but had failed.

Violent protests had broken out across Pakistan after Imran Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court on May 9. Many civil and military installations were attacked across the country including the Corps Commander House in Lahore and the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar.