'Suo motu scuppered country's boat', Sanaullah on delay in May 9 trials

• May 9 culprits should have undergone summary trial: Sanaullah.
• Former security czar says “judges should be strong and upright".
• “Evidence for May 9 so clear that there isn’t any doubt about it."

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah has said that the authority of the superior courts taking suo motu notices has worsened matters in the country, as he lamented the delay in trials of the May 9 accused.

The country marks a year since the events of violence that saw a charged mob ransacking civil and military installations and desecrating army monuments in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023. 

Sanaullah, the senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said that the “judicial system of the country and Constitution of Pakistan were responsible” for the failure to serve justice.

“It was just a simple procedure, which should have been adopted, that the people [linked to May 9 protests] should have undergone summary trial and conviction within 30-90 days,” he said while speaking in the Geo News programme Capital Talk on Thursday.

He referred to the former government and the army’s decision to try the May 9 accused in military courts and failure in holding military trials owing to stay and challenging petitions that kept the matter from achieving finality.

"This suo motu has scuppered the country's boat," he said. 

When asked if the inquiry report prepared by the former caretaker prime minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar’s government had any solid evidence against the May 9 perpetrators, Sanaullah said that he didn’t value the document to this level.

“However, the evidence for May 9 incidents is so clear that there isn’t any doubt about it,” he added.

The former security czar said that the reason cases were also facing delays in anti-terrorism courts was that the "judiciary is free and there is no interference from any executive".

Responding to a question regarding the Islamabad High Court judges’ claims about being pressurised by “agencies”, the former federal minister said that lawyer associations and bars also put pressure.

“The judge should be strong and upright,” he said, adding that no one could pressurise those "who are such personalities".

Sanaullah further said that three more years would pass "if a judicial commission is formed to probe the May 9 events". He also called for reforms in the justice system.

It may be noted that the PTI has been calling for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 violence, which refers to violent protests triggered by the arrest of deposed prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). 

During the protests, alleged PTI supporters damaged public and private properties and also attacked military installations in different parts of the country.