Lahore: The Cantonment military police have opened the historic Corps Commander Lahore House known as 'Jinnah House' for the public after it was torched by arsonists following the anti-government protests against the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9.
The Jinnah House in Lahore Cantonment was opened to the public primarily to show them the damage caused by the arsonists to the 'historic monument', an official of the Punjab government said. A large number of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party workers May 9 stormed the Jinnah House and set it on fire after vandalising it.
On May 9, Khan, the chairman of PTI was arrested by paramilitary Rangers at the Islamabad High Court where he was attending a hearing for a corruption case. He was arrested just a day after he accused the powerful army of plotting to assassinate him. Clashes erupted after the arrest of Khan. In addition to this, the violent protesters torched a static plane in the Mianwali district of Punjab, the hometown of Imran Khan and attacked the ISI building in Faisalabad.
The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time. According to police over a dozen military installations were vandalised or torched during the two-day violent protests. Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 7,000 PTI workers across Pakistan, 4,000 of them from Punjab for torching and vandalising the civil and military installations after violence erupted in the wake of Imran Khan's arrest on May 9 in a land corruption case.
According to PTI, over 40 party workers were killed in the violence. Police have put the toll to 10. Some student groups' visits were also organised at the Jinnah House showing them the damage caused by the arsonists. They also penned down their comments.
Before the attack, Jinnah House where the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah stayed for 'two hours' was hardly ever opened to the general public in the past.
The military top command has announced trying the rioters under the Military Act. On Monday the top military brass vowed to bring the arsonists, who attacked the civil and military installations, to justice through trial under relevant laws of the country, including the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act. (PTI)
