Govt vigilant to provide protection to Muharram programmes: Raja Basharat
Govt vigilant to provide protection to Muharram programmes: Raja Basharat
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Punjab Law and Cooperatives Minister Raja Basharat said that Section 144 had been imposed on 9th and 10th of Muharram, while pillion riding and mobile-phone services would be banned as per requirement.
While briefing the media on the security arrangements made for Muharram on Tuesday, the minister said that on the direction of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the Provincial Cabinet Committee on Law and Order held separate meetings of each division, while consultations with religious scholars were also made in the meeting of Majlis-e-Ittehad-e-Muslimeen.
He said that 36,686 Majalis and 9,318 processions would be held in the province, and 410,000 police personnel, 35 Rangers and 66 Army companies had been deployed for their protection.
He said that exemplary cooperation from ulema of all sects had been received. He said that with their consultation, the gagging of 900 scholars and 1,315 zakireen had been carried out.
Raja Basharat said that due to special arrangements, the time the Muharram gatherings and processions were not affected by the Independence Day celebrations.
He said that so far strict action had been taken against several persons for spreading religious hatred on the social media, while clear instructions had also been given to the municipal services for removal of encroachments and garbage on the routes of processions during Muharram.
He directed the Home Department to immediately fix the faulty cameras of the Safe City Authority. He said that strict instructions had been issued to the administration across the province for implementation of corona standard operating procedures (SOPs). He said that the CTD department had been conducting continuous operations for the last one month. “Even today, two terrorists have been arrested from Lahore, who wanted to target rallies and processions,” he added.
Raja Basharat said that the entire government would remain alert during Muharram. He said that he himself, the chief minister and all ministers had been monitoring the security arrangements across the province and would visit and inspect the arrangements on-the-spot.
