The real leaders who present themselves as victims of the May 9 riots would be held accountable for their actions, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir said on Thursday.

“The real leaders who present themselves as victims now will be held accountable for their actions, particularly when there is irrefutable evidence of their involvement and complicity in organised violence and sabotage, particularly when there is irrefutable evidence of their involvement and complicity in organised violence and sabotage,” he said while addressing the garrison officers and soldiers at the Corps Headquarters in Lahore.

According to the Inter-Service Public Relations statement, the army chief had visited the Lahore Garrison. He laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument and paid tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the motherland.

He was given a detailed briefing on the operational preparedness of the formation.

Earlier in the day, the media wing of the army issued a statement exactly one year after violent mobs attacked military and civilian installations in the country on May 9, 2023 when PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested.

The statement referred to May 9 as “the black day” and declared that planners, facilitators and executioners of the May 9 conspiracy would not be allowed to “hoodwink the law of land.”

The COAS lauded the troops for their services to the nation and appreciated their professionalism. He underscored that inimical forces and their abettors have unleashed “digital terrorism” and were trying hard to create division between the armed forces and the people of Pakistan through peddling lies, fake news and propaganda. “However, the designs of all these forces will be defeated with the support of the nation.”

COAS Munir added that every soldier and officer of the Pakistan Army puts his duties and responsibilities first, regardless of any other affiliations or preferences and continues to render extreme sacrifices on a daily basis.

“May 9 will undoubtedly remain a black day in the history of Pakistan when deliberately indoctrinated and insidiously guided miscreants attacked the symbols of the state and national unity, disgracefully desecrating the Shuhada monuments,” he said.

According to the army chief, such acts of criminally orchestrated violence provided enemies of Pakistan the opportunity to mock the state and the nation. He deplored that the same plotters were “brazenly and shamelessly trying to twist” the narrative and implicate the state in their endeavour. “This mindset is precisely the reason why there can be no compromise or deal with the planners and architects of this dark chapter in our history.”

He went on to add that those elements who did not understand the real motive behind this criminal enterprise and were used as “cannon fodder” for the political ambitions of the masterminds have already been accorded reasonable benefit of the doubt on the direction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

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COAS Munir reassured the officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army that “no one will be allowed to disrespect Shuhada, their families or the institution.” He reiterated that planners, abettors, facilitators and culprits of May 9 would be brought to justice according to the law of the land.

“Our patience not to respond to daily provocations in this regard made in brazen violation of the constitution has limits and it must never be misconstrued as weakness.”

Later, the COAS while inaugurating Jinnah Library at the Lahore Garrison stated that “we being the constructive forces have rekindled the memory of Quaid by building this public library over the piles of ash and rubble created by the destructive forces.”

Earlier on arrival, he was received by Commander Lahore Corps.