Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday announced that the government has decided to summon the Punjab Rangers to maintain the law and order situation in the province amid the ongoing protests by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a private TV channel reported.
“We have decided to summon the Rangers for a period of 60 days to maintain law and order situation in the province,” the minister told a press conference. “Like Karachi, Rangers have been called in Punjab under Section 4 (2) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, read with Article 147 of the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said, adding that the government wants to establish peace as there is a lot of international pressure on Pakistan.
The minister said that since the ambassador of France is not present in Pakistan, the proscribed organisation seems to have “another agenda”. He said that he had spoken to the banned group at 3:30am last night and told them to look at the situation in the country. “I told them that the French ambassador is not even in Pakistan. This shows that they have another agenda.” The minister said that the group had committed that it would reopen roads that it had previously blocked. “I had warned that foreign powers want to impose sanctions on Pakistan,” he said. “The TLP has turned into a militant organisation as its members had opened fire on policemen using Kalashnikovs. I am still warning the protesters to return home,” he said, adding that the government cannot keep schools and hospitals closed due to the protests. “The TLP is banned in Pakistan and now it is feared that it may be banned internationally too,” he warned, adding that Pakistan won’t be able to intervene if such a thing happens.
The minister said that the government tried holding talks with the proscribed organisation and kept its word, but “the TLP broke its promises.” “It is not possible for the government to shut down the French embassy,” the interior minister said, adding that the government had already reached an agreement with the proscribed organisation and it will stand by the signed deal. “The government has to establish its writ and is not happy with the loss of innocent lives,” he said referring to the martyrdom of four policemen.
Meanwhile, Inspector General Punjab, Rao Sardar Ali Khan, while holding a press conference today, said that the police would do everything to establish peace in the province. “Four of our policemen have embraced martyrdom, while 263 have sustained injuries after members of the prescribed organisation opened fire on the forces during their protest,” the IG Punjab said. “We won’t let this gang get away with its actions,” the IG added.
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