9th, 10th Muharram: Punjab govt to impose Section 144, ban pillion riding

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Tuesday decided to impose Section 144 for 9th and 10th Muharram and ban pillion riding and mobile phone service in limited areas across Punjab.

While briefing the media on the security arrangements made for Muharram, Punjab Law and Cooperatives Minister Raja Basharat said 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 further said that 36,686 Majaalis and 9,318 processions would be held in the province and for its protection 410,000 police personnel, 35 Rangers and 66 Army companies will be deployed. "Ulema of all sects have shown exemplary cooperation with the government and with their consultation, we have restrained 900 scholars and 1315 scholars," he added.

Basharat also said that they have taken strict action against several persons for spreading religious hatred on social media while clear instructions had also been given to the municipal services for the removal of encroachments and garbage on the routes of processions during Muharram.

He directed the Punjab Home Department to immediately fix the faulty cameras of the Safe City Authority. He said that strict instructions have been issued to the administration across the province to ensure the implementation of Coronavirus SOPs.

"The Counter Terrorism Department is conducting operations for the last one month to neutralise any terrorist activity; even today, two terrorists were arrested from Lahore who were planning to target rallies and processions," he said.

The Minister said that the entire government would remain alert on the 9th and 10th of Muharram; "the Chief Minister and all ministers will personally monitor the security arrangements across the province, and they would visit and inspect the arrangements on the spot".

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021