<\/p>\n
On the eve of the first anniversary of the May 9 riots when countrywide protests<\/a> were triggered after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, President Zardari said the occasion would be remembered as a \u201cdark day\u201d.<\/p>\n May 9 holds significant importance in the country\u2019s political landscape, as it was on this day last year when military installations were attacked following Imran\u2019s arrest<\/a> from the Islamabad High Court\u2019s premises, which formed the basis of a severe state crackdown against him and his party.<\/p>\n In a message released on the day\u2019s eve, President Zardari said: \u201cMay 9, 2023, will always be remembered as a dark day in Pakistan\u2019s history when a politically instigated mob ran amok across the country, damaging public property and military installations.\u201d<\/p>\n Condemning the violence, he said that the incidents had \u201cseverely tarnished\u201d the country\u2019s image and thus only \u201cserved the interests of Pakistan\u2019s enemies\u201d.<\/p>\n He termed the mob attacks as an \u201cattempt to challenge the writ of the state, undermine the rule of law and weaken institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n The president said peaceful demonstrations and constructive criticism were the essence of democracy, emphasising that the Constitution enshrined the fundamental rights of assembly and expression.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, he stressed the vital importance of exercising these rights with the \u201cutmost responsibility\u201d while abiding by the bounds of constitutional and legal provisions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have never seen such vandalism in responsible democracies, with violent mobs wreaking havoc on state properties for political gains,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n Zardari urged political parties, Parliament, the media and civil society to strengthen democracy by upholding the rule of law and fostering a culture of tolerance, political dialogue and inclusivity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current political situation demands that all political parties work towards promoting tolerance, democratic values, political dialogue and provide a clear direction to the nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He regretted and condemned the malicious social media campaign against state institutions, saying \u201ca mechanism should be evolved to check and counter such disinformation campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe president expressed pride in Pakistan\u2019s armed forces and its institutions, which had been a vanguard in defending the nation against various threats. He emphasised that those responsible for the May 9 violence should be held accountable according to the law.\u201d<\/p>\n President Zardari remarked that the country faced numerous challenges and such \u201cirresponsible acts by political forces not only hindered the progress achieved as a nation but further exacerbated socio-economic challenges\u201d.<\/p>\n He also highlighted the need to harness the youth\u2019s potential for the country\u2019s benefit, rather than \u201cinstigating them against state institutions\u201d. He also called for collective efforts to build a better future for generations to come and putting an end to political polarisation and hatred.<\/p>\n Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani also described May 9 incident as a \u201cdark chapter\u201d in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n In a message released on X, he expressed strong dismay over the acts of vandalism and attacks on significant national assets, including Jinnah House, emphasising that \u201csuch reprehensible actions have no place in civilised societies\u201d.<\/p>\n Gilani reiterated that the entire nation was \u201cshocked and outraged by the distressing events\u201d of May 9. He lamented the desecration of monuments and martyrs\u2019 memorials, emphasising that martyrs held a revered place for the nation and were deserving of the utmost respect.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said that those who orchestrated these events deserved no leniency. Gilani paid glowing tributes to the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan\u2019s armed forces for the defence of motherland.<\/p>\n \u201cHe called upon all political entities to unite in addressing Pakistan\u2019s challenges and contribute positively to the country\u2019s development, emphasising the need for concerted efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Information minister Attaullah Tarar announced that commemorative events would be held to memorialise the day and martyrs but there were no plans by the government for a public holiday for the occasion.<\/p>\n Addressing a press conference, Tarar said a special cabinet meeting was scheduled for Thursday, which would also be attended by members of the ruling coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prime minister will address a gathering at the Convention Centre,\u201d Tarar added.<\/p>\n \u201cMay 9 will be remembered as a dark day in our history. We will not forget the day, we will not forget their (the rioters\u2019) faces \u2026 we will not let it happen again\u201d.<\/p>\n One such event he said would be hosted by the Information Department to commemorate martyrs. \u201cIt will be a tribute to the martyrs,\u201d he said, adding that personnel from the military and police and the families of martyred soldiers would be in attendance.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the eve of the first anniversary of the May 9 riots when countrywide protests were triggered after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, President Zardari said the occasion would be remembered as a \u201cdark day\u201d. May 9 holds significant importance in the country\u2019s political landscape, as it was on this day last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/05\/09000050ddd7693.png?r=000109","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Govt has no plans for holiday: information minister<\/h2>\n