Though he took no names, the head of the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, in a news conference on Monday afternoon, said that they had launched action against another 15 senior army officers following two departmental inquiries, headed by major generals.
These 15 army officers included three major generals (two-star generals) and seven brigadiers (one-star generals).
This was the strongest public message the military has given on clearing its own house over the May 9 incidents.
The severity of the incident drew some choice reactions from people, who took to social media platforms such as Twitter to express themselves.
Writer and communications consultant Shama Junejo wrote, "The VERY ANGRY tone of DG ISPR tells the mood of Pakistani military on #9thMay incident. They won't spare anyone, whoever is involved!"
https://twitter.com/ShamaJunejo/status/1673288643576832000
Lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Hazir Mazari commented that the people of Pakistan would hold them accountable and that no one can be a judge in his own cause.
https://twitter.com/ImaanZHazir/status/1673301220004622338
Writer Nadeem Farooq Paracha pointed to the military's announcement to suggest how efforts of those outside the force to instigate within were futile from the start.
https://twitter.com/NadeemfParacha/status/1673367192593735680
READ MORE: Fallen Horses: The Coup Attempts That Failed In Pakistan
Some, like lawyer Reema Omer, raised concerns over the way the military was treating the severity of incidents of May 9 and what the scale of response would be.
"Calling May 9 Pakistan's 9/11 is insensitive, sensationalist, and plain wrong
Only comparison could be in the reaction: like the US, is our State going to respond with dehumanisation of perceived "enemy""
https://twitter.com/reema_omer/status/1673381760141524992
Journalist Cyril Almeida summarised the news conference in the most direct way: "Short version of ISPR: Imran is toast..."
Short version of ISPR: Imran is toast...
— cyril almeida (@cyalm) June 26, 2023
Salman Masood, another local journalist, said that per his sources, there was no evidence of a coup being staged but that the officers sacked were for their failure to protect military installations.
Acc to top security officials, no evidence points to an internal coup plotted on May 9. The execution of a coup would have required coordination between the alleged perpetrators and individuals within the GHQ, which was not found. The sacked officers were held accountable for…
— Salman Masood (@salmanmasood) June 26, 2023
Others, such as historian Maryam Khan noted that arguments from some on whether the officers should have held public inquiries were the same thinking that got us to this stage in the first place.
Some folks are arguing that the army court martialing its own does not prove anything, and that instead the army should hold a public inquiry and prosecute suspected officers in the mainstream courts. It's this kind of uptopian stupidity that brought us here in the first place.
— Maryam S. Khan (@MaryamShKhan) June 26, 2023
Another journalist, Taha Siddiqui called out how the military officials sacked were not named and that their day in court passed without making airwaves while the civilians who will be tried in military courts are being shown on television.
So they “sack” four military officials but do not name and shame them nor do they punish them, while the civilians involved are being shown and paraded all over TV, sent to jail already and will be tried in military courts. #AikNahiDoPakistan
— Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) June 26, 2023