The provincial government has announced that individuals who help Punjab authorities in arresting the suspects who vandalized Lahore Corps Commander House (or Jinnah House) will receive a bounty of Rs200,000. The Punjab Home Department has shared photographs of the vandals and has requested the public to assist law enforcement agencies in tracking them down. The identity of informants will be kept confidential.
The violent protests that occurred after the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan resulted in nearly a dozen fatalities and several injuries. Following Khan’s arrest, he criticized the military, and his supporters raised the stakes by attacking military targets. The residence of the Corps Commander in Lahore was torched, and the entrance to the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi was attacked.
After the supporters attacked army installations, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that May 9, 2023, the day when chaos gripped the nation following Khan’s arrest, would be remembered as a “dark chapter” in history. The ISPR called the PTI leaders “hypocrites” for inciting their workers against the armed forces on the one hand and praising the military, in a bid to overshadow their criticism, on the other.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Punjab government to arrest the vandals within 72 hours. He added that “I have given law enforcement apparatus a target of 72 hours to arrest all those involved in facilitating, abetting and perpetrating the disgraceful incidents of arson, ransacking, sabotage & damaging public & private properties,” after chairing a meeting at the Punjab Safe City Authority Headquarters in Lahore. He also stated that all resources, including technological aid and intelligence, are being deployed to locate these elements. Punishment for these acts of terrorism will be decided by anti-terrorism courts and it reflects on the government’s ability to bring terrorists responsible for these attacks to justice.