Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan will be tried in a military court for the events of May 9 when violence erupted following his arrest and military installations came under attack, reports DAWN.

During an appearance on the Dawn News show, the Pakistani minister accused the former prime minister of personally orchestrating the attacks on military installations prior to his arrest on the day in question, adding that there was evidence to support this claim, it said.

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When asked if Imran would be tried in the military court, Sanaullah said: “Absolutely, why shouldn’t it. The program that he made to target the military installations and then had it executed, in my understanding it absolutely is a case of military court.”

The interior minister accused the PTI chief of personally orchestrating the May 9 riots.

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“They (PTI supporters) chanted a slogan that ‘Imran Khan is our red line’, and the planning and preparation were done on Imran Khan’s initiative and instigation.”

“He carried it all out. He is the architect of all this discord,” he said.

When asked how Imran was able to communicate with his party leaders even from jail, the interior minister replied: “All this [planning] was decided before he went [to jail] that ’who will do what and where. And when he is arrested, what would be the strategy and duties. All of this was decided.”

At least eight people were killed, up to 290 were hurt, and over 1,900 protesters were arrested on May 9, when a court in Islamabad handed Imran over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Al Qadir Trust case. The court’s decision sparked protests all over the country, the report said.

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The protestors also overran the residence of the corps commander in Lahore, also known as Jinnah House, and destroyed a GHQ gate in Rawalpindi, it added.

The government and military vowed strictest measures against the perpetrators in response to the riot, resulting in an ongoing crackdown against those involved.