Imran Khan planned May 9 violence to oust army chief, claims aide

Islamabad, October 5

Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan masterminded the May 9 violence and planned the attacks on sensitive military installations with an aim to remove army chief General Asim Munir, his close aide Usman Dar has said.

Dar, regarded as one of Khan’s trusted aides, had reportedly gone underground after unrest broke out in Pakistan following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief’s arrest by paramilitary Rangers on May 9, a newspaper reported.

Several military and state buildings, including the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the ISI building in Faisalabad, were torched and vandalised by PTI activists during the unprecedented violence that broke out after Khan’s arrest.

Dar, who served as the head of the PTI’s Tiger Force, an organisation comprising young volunteers, was allegedly “abducted” a couple of weeks ago by intelligence agencies from the country’s Sindh province. He reemerged on Wednesday, levelling serious allegations against Khan on a TV programme.