RAWALPINDI -UNS: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir said on Thursday that the nation will “neither forgive nor forget” those involved in “desecrating memorials of martyrs and harming their dignity”.
The army chief’s remarks came the nation marks the Youm-i-Takreem Shuhada-i-Pakistan (Martyrs’ Reverence Day). Earlier this week, Gen Munir had condemned the attack on military installations and memorials on May 9 — when violent protests broke out in the country following the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan — as intolerable and announced that tribute would be paid to the country’s martyrs today (May 25).
In this regard, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said a number of commemorative ceremonies were held at martyrs’ memorials. A ceremony was also held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi earlier in the day where COAS Munir and his predecessor, retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa, were in attendance.
According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today, the army chief visited the Islamabad Police Lines where he was received by Police Inspector General Dr Akbar Nasir Khan.
He met police officers and the families of the martyrs.
In an address during the ceremony, COAS Munir said that what happened on May 9 was “extremely regrettable and condemnable”.
“The Pakistan Army, police, and law enforcement agencies are symbols of the state and a defence line that do not hesitate in rendering any sacrifice for the dignity of the country and nation,” the military’s media wing quoted him as saying.
“Gen Munir told to the families of the martyrs that the people of Pakistan and the Pakistan Army stand and will continue to stand with the families of the martyrs of all the law enforcement agencies,” the statement added.
PM says ‘tragic’ events of May 9 a ‘wake-up call for us’
In a statement on Twitter, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the “tragic and heart-rending” events of May 9 were a “wake-up call for us”, adding that all those who wanted to destroy the foundations of Pakistan needed to be identified and exposed.
“Today the nation is solemnly observing Youm-i-Takreem Shuhada-i-Pakistan to pay its glowing tributes to our heroes, ghazis, and martyrs and express its unflinching solidarity with their families,” he said.
