KARACHI , May 17, 2023: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Zaidi praised former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, saying that only the latter was his leader.
Speaking to media, Mr Zaidi said, “Imran Khan has always instructed us to stay away from violence. PTI is my party. No one can mount pressure on me to quit PTI”.
Expressing regret over the attack on Jinnah House, he said, “Despite stopping the miscreants, a fake FIR was registered against me. I widely condemned the attack on the public buildings”.
Lavishing praise on the army, Mr Zaidi said, “It is because of the army that we sleep peacefully at night. The army is ours, and we belong to the national security institution.”
“Everyone has a constitutional right to peaceful protest. But those involved in violent protests should be brought to justice,” he maintained.
Fawad Chaudhry’s viewpoint
On Tuesday night, PTI stalwart Fawad Chaudhry said the events of May 9 were “extremely regrettable” and whoever was involved, whether from the PTI or not, should be investigated and brought to justice.
Speaking to media after he came out of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), he said as a spokesperson for the PTI, he condemned the attacks on Lahore’s Corps Commander House and defence installations. “Every person who belongs to Pakistan and the Pakistan Army was sad at what happened on May 9,” he added.
He went on to say that he belonged to Jhelum – a residential place of army martyrs. “None of our graveyards is without martyrs’ graves,” he added.
Mr Chaudhry said whoever belonged to Pakistan had cordial relations with army, adding that “we have to formulate our policy keeping this in mind.” “If police want to arrest me, I am here to court arrest,” he added.