LAHORE: Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif said on Wednesday that it was inevitable to punish the masterminds of the May 9 incidents as the public was facing the consequences of the conspiracy to facilitate a person.
Addressing a press conference here at Model Town, he said that the facilitator and mastermind involved in the events of May 9 and 10, no matter how powerful they were, must be punished because they had attacked not on an institution but on the state and its security. “From the day first, we have been saying that facilitation is happening which has now proved. Our goal is not to punish people but to make a difference by making right decisions,” he argued.
Mian Javed Latif said that destruction they had done to Pakistan in the guise of elections was now exposed, and nation would not tolerate any concession to the mastermind of May 9 and 10. He said that it was a good omen that a powerful institution started self-accountability process and set an example for other institutions which should also start self-accountability process. He hoped that institution providing justice would also go through this process and those who made wrong decisions to crown only one person would be held accountable.
Federal Minister was of view that God forbid, an incident like May 9 might happen again, if those who launched this plot were not arrested and punished.
To a question, he said whether one was in the institution or outside, Pakistan was a priority for everyone, and the people sitting in institutions had been criticized in the past as well. It was necessary to criticize such decisions which worsen the conditions of Pakistan.
To another question, he said that those who had brought a petition that there should be no punishment under the Army Act, must be asked when the Army Act was made. Those saying that Pakistan’s law was in shambles, only wanted to save one person, and also, the people who aspired to become Green Card holders were supporting him, he maintained.
Federal Minister said that evidences of facilitation had been found and Pakistan was being destroyed to save one person, asserting that voice should also be raised against the culture that came out in 2017 and this culture would be stopped with reference to the decisions of May 9. He said PML-N had secured two-thirds majority twice in the past without any electoral alliance. Despite the majority in Punjab in 2018, the party was not allowed to form the government, he mentioned.
In response to a question, Mr Latif said that Muhammad Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan soon and decide about the party’s electoral alliance. It was a fact, he said, whenever Nawaz Sharif took over the government, there was development and prosperity in the country, asserting that his political sagacity and global confidence could pull the country out of the quagmire. He said that the country was ruined during PTI’s tenure, citing that PIA had been suffering losses of Rs 67 billion annually due to a wrong decision of the previous government.
To a question, he said that Nawaz Sharif believed that the party workers who had shown loyalty in difficult time of last four to five years would be given the party ticket and he also wanted to field 50 percent new candidates.
