2023 series of violent incidents in Pakistan
The May 9 riots, also called the May 9 protests (), and known as Black Day by the Pakistani government, were a series of violent riots that took place on 9 May 2023, in Pakistan. Following the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, from the grounds of the Islamabad High Court, nationwide demonstrations held by PTI's supporters descended into violent riots. Incidents of vandalism, looting, and arson resulted in Rs. 1.98 billion worth of damage inflicted to government and military facilities by PTI workers and members of the public. As the protests suddenly descended into violence and chaos and began attacking law enforcement officers, the government responded with a cellular service and internet blockade and a crackdown against PTI leaders, workers, and supporters, as well as those perceived to be allied to the party's cause within the media and legal fraternity. Trials of civilians within military courts were also initiated and are being challenged in the country's Supreme Court.
Background.
Imran Khan, the PTI leader and former Pakistani prime minister, was arrested by paramilitary troops on 9 May 2023. In response, PTI supporters and workers began to demonstrate against Khan's arrest in a number of cities, including in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Multan.
Riots and violence.
Arson, vandalism, and assaults on governmental and military facilities were committed by rioters, with 62 confirmed breakouts of violence, and at least 40 buildings confirmed to be damaged in the aftermath.
Among the buildings damaged in the riots were the torched residence of the Pakistan Army’s IV Corps Commander in Lahore, the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, PAF’s M.M. Alam airbase in Mianwali, an Inter-Services Intelligence office in Faisalabad, and at a Frontier Corps fort in Chakdara.
Punjab Police, utilizing geo-fencing reports, accused Imran Khan and key PTI leaders of orchestrating attacks on the residence of the Lahore corps commander and other critical locations. Police indicated that over 400 calls were made by PTI leaders, including Imran Khan, to direct rioters toward these targets. Inspector General of Police Punjab, Dr. Usman Anwar, confirmed the deployment of geo-fencing to monitor these communications, identifying Imran Khan as a principal suspect in planning the assaults. Additional PTI leaders implicated were Hammad Azhar, Yasmin Rashid, Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Ejaz Chaudhary, Mian Aslam Iqbal, and Murad Raas, all allegedly in contact with the rioters, providing precise directives for the attacks.
Anti-terrorism legislation was used, and numerous prosecutions were filed against those responsible for the riots. At least five PTI workers were killed by law enforcement officers who fired live ammunition; one death happened in Quetta, while the remaining four happened in Peshawar. Along with these ten deaths, hundreds of rioters and law enforcement officers sustained injuries.
Governmental response.
The Punjab Home Department established 53 Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) made up of police personnel to investigate the cases reported in relation to the riots thoroughly in reaction to the mounting violence. With the consent of the Punjab cabinet subcommittee on law and order, several JITs were created. Each JIT was given a prosecutor from the prosecution department to help with the investigation.
Arrests and proceedings.
Over a thousand people have reportedly been arrested in connection with the rioting in Lahore alone, according to reports from the Punjab Police. According to reports, 3,200 alleged rioters were detained across Punjab. Numerous cases were reported to the police, the bulk of which were covered by anti-terrorism regulations. The most severely affected cities were Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Multan, with variable numbers of cases reported in each place.
Aftermath.
Crackdown against the PTI.
A crackdown was initiated against PTI leaders and workers, with thousands arrested, with rights groups raising concerns regarding arbitrary arrests, custodial torture, and forced disappearances. PTI leaders were forced to quit party/party positions in televised press conferences. Businesses of PTI leaders who did not quit the party were sealed. Family members of PTI leaders who went into hiding were harassed by police and military intelligence forces. In many instances, their houses were raided late at night and ransacked; valuables were also seized; the dowry for Mian Aslam Iqbal's daughter's wedding was seized by Punjab Police; and the homes of Lal Chand Malhi and Ali Nawaz Awan were demolished. A crackdown was also initiated on vocal women supporters of Khan's party - the most prominent of which was Khadija Shah, a businesswoman and granddaughter of former Pakistani Army Chief, Asif Nawaz Janjua. Former Federal Ministers, Shehryar Khan Afridi and Ali Muhammad Khan, former Governor Punjab Omer Sarfraz Cheema, and former Punjab provincial ministers, Yasmin Rashid and Mehmood-ur-Rasheed have been incarcerated since the end of the riots. Even once released by the courts, they were immediately re-arrested in other cases; Khan has been rearrested six times, while Afridi, and Rashid have been rearrested twice. Cheema's wife was arrested as she came to attend her husband's hearing. Afridi was not allowed to attend his brother's funeral and was kept in inhumane conditions in a 'death cell' reserved for those on death row.
Media censorship and abduction of journalists.
Mobile internet coverage was suspended as riots spread throughout the country. The ban effected gig workers, including those working for Uber, Foodpanda, and Careem, as well as freelancers and remote workers who relied on mobile internet. It was estimated that during the three days that mobile internet remained suspended, Pakistan's telecom companies bore a loss of Rs. 2.49 billion (), while the country's software export industry lost Rs. 10 billion (). Internet was fully restored across the country on 13 May 2023. The ban was criticized by GSMA as it urged to restore internet services in the country.
Access to social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, was also restricted in the aftermath of the riots. Both the blockage of internet and social media were implemented by Pakistan Telecom Authority after a notification for the same was issued by the interior ministry, under Rana Sanaullah. Access to social media was fully restored by 16 May 2023. However, the government has hinted at another social media blockage with defense minister, Khawaja Asif, claiming that "the script of the May 9 violence was prepared via social media”.
Several leading media houses were called to a secret meeting by the Pakistan Army in which they were directed to ban all coverage of Imran Khan. As a result, Khan's name disappeared overnight from all local print and electronic media, with journalists euphemistically referring to him as "Qasim ke Abba" (Qasim's father) as the moniker became a top twitter trend in Pakistan.
Journalists that were seen as aligned with the PTI were targeted. Imran Riaz Khan, one of the most popular journalists on Pakistani social media, was kidnapped from outside Sialkot Central Jail on 11 May 2023 after being initially detained by Punjab Police. He has since remained missing as the chief of Punjab Police, Usman Anwar, put the blame on military agencies for his disappearance in front of the Lahore High Court, and expressed his inability to locate the journalist. Another prominent journalist, Sami Ibrahim, head of Bol News was picked up from Islamabad on 24 May 2023 before being released on 30 May. Reporters without Borders and the International Federation of Journalists raised concern over the abductions.
Trials of civilians in military courts.
In the immediate aftermath, the administration attempted to transfer a number of cases to military courts for trial due to the seriousness of the crimes committed during the riots. Four accused people involved in targeting defense sites had their transfer allowed by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad, while eight accused people involved in the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) had their transfer granted by an ATC in Rawalpindi. Additionally, the commanding officer received 16 suspects, among them an ex-PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA), who was charged with looting and vandalizing Corp Commander House in Lahore.
Later, trials of as many as 102 defendants, who were deemed to be involved in attacks on military installation, were transferred from anti-terrorism courts to military courts. The move drew widespread criticism as military courts have been deemed as opaque systems shrouded in secrecy with little regard for human rights and legal Procedures due process by both the United Nations and International Commission of Jurists. Several constitutional petitions were made before the Supreme Court of Pakistan to declare the trials unconstitutional, including by the former Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, who deemed it as "militarization of justice". Pakistan People's Party leader and prominent lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, was also one of the petitioners as he considered the move as "a complete anathema to the constitutional separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, the inalienable right of every Pakistani to be treated in accordance with law, and the fundamental rights of life, liberty, fair trial, and due process”. Imran Khan, also filed a civil petition separately. The petitions have been clubbed together into a military courts case with a 6-member Supreme Court larger bench hearing it.
Targeting of lawyers.
The legal fraternity, particularly those demanding the upholding of the Constitution of Pakistan and cessation of trials of civilians in military courts, were also targeted. A prominent lawyer, Uzair Bhandari, was abducted and later released after he left Imran Khan's residence after consulting with him on the matter of military courts. The house of Advocate Latif Khosa, former Governor of Punjab, was attacked by armed men after he made a speech against the interim government in Punjab and the trial of civilians in military courts.
Judicial Inquiry Demands.
After the 2024 general elections, several political figures advocated for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots. Ali Amin Gandapur, the newly elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), demanded a judicial inquiry in his inaugural speech. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), endorsed Gandapur's call for a judicial inquiry during a session of the National Assembly. However, Ahsan Iqbal, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), expressed conditional support for a judicial inquiry. He voiced his backing only if the inquiry also investigated similar incidents involving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Court cases.
Following the events, Imran Khan was released after the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared his arrest as 'illegal'. Khan remained free until he was arrested again on several cases, with many being from the military alleging Khan had relation to the riots. The Lahore High Court concluded that there was no evidence that Imran Khan was related to the May 9 riots. Imran Khan also stated that he was ready to apologize for the riots if a single piece of evidence was found that PTI was behind violent rioting, which has not been proven. Imran Khan was found to have no relation to the May 9 events in two other court cases.
In July 2024, a comprehensive order issued by Judge Khalid Arshad of the Anti-Terrorism Court linked PTI's founder, Imran Khan, to the orchestration of attacks on military bases, government buildings, and police personnel. This order disclosed that Khan had directed PTI leaders to incite chaos and apply pressure for his release in the event of his arrest, according to testimonies from two prosecution witnesses. The court document detailed a meeting on 7 May 2023, where Khan allegedly instructed PTI leaders to brace for possible disturbances on May 9 if he were apprehended. In a video message, he reportedly cautioned that Pakistan could face turmoil similar to the Sri Lankan unrest should he be detained, prompting his followers to participate in what he called a "real jihad for real freedom." The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, was also said to back Khan's position, suggesting that a hunger strike by Khan would trigger widespread protests both domestically and internationally. The prosecution argued that Khan masterminded a criminal conspiracy, mobilizing senior PTI figures to provoke actions that led to the attack and arson of the Jinnah House (Corp Commander House, Lahore), with the intention of intimidating the government. Judge Arshad's ruling highlighted that pre-arrest bail is not applicable for individuals plotting to undermine the government and committing acts of terrorism. As a result, Imran Khan's bail application was denied, upholding the court's stance on his supposed participation in the unrest.
Social media trolling.
9 May incidents () generated trolling on social media which went haywire in country's political scene due to overemphasis on its condemnation by government and ISPR. Punjab Police decided to crackdown on accounts involved in trolling