PML-N warns against mercy for May 9 rioters

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LAHORE:

The PML-N has strongly opposed any form of relief for the embattled former ruling party, PTI, and its workers, regardless of how small, believing that restoring political normalcy would be the beginning of the end of their own tenure.

Several senior leaders within PML-N have voiced concerns about PTI being given political breathing room despite their alleged involvement in the May 9 rioting.

On several occasions, the leaders of the ruling party appear to have asserted that the military establishment should put the final nail in PTI's political coffin, setting a precedent for anyone daring to challenge the powerful force, much like it did with MQM.

While PTI's downfall started when it found itself at loggerheads with the establishment, it has recently evolved into a battle between PML-N and PTI.

PTI's recent attempts at reconciliation have ruffled feathers in PML-N, which is bent on making sure the dialogue process, particularly the backdoor negotiations, comes to a dead end.

The latest salvo against PTI came from Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari who, in a press conference on Friday, warned that pardoning PTI would open floodgates for future May 9-like riots.

She stressed that those who were released from jail and are now preparing to repeat incidents similar to May 9 should never be pardoned. "Relief will be denied to them in the future," she added. "PTI members are experts at lying."

"They are habitual of speaking lies without any shame." She also highlighted that while Imran Khan sits in jail, he is spreading rumours, claiming that prisons in KPK are collapsing and no one is willing to go there.

"I sympathise with the children who fall victim to PTI's false propaganda," Azma continued, adding that while their parents plead for their release, these children are ready to repeat the chaos of May 9. "Rioters are roaming free, and they should not be given any leniency," she asserted.