LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat has said that the Punjab government is considering to call in Rangers for the assistance of civil government in maintaining security during the forthcoming month of Muharram-ul-Haram.

He disclosed this while presiding over the cabinet committee on law and order at the Civil Secretariat with members of peace committees of Gujranwala Division here on Thursday. Provincial Ministers Ansar Majeed Khan, Chaudhry Akhlaq Ahmed, Sahibzada Saeed-ul- Hassan, IG Punjab, Additional Chief Secretary Home and Additional IG Special Branch were also present while Gujranwala Division Commissioner, RPOs, deputy commissioners, DPOs and ulema participated via a video-link.

Addressing the participants, the law minister stressed the need for giving special care to corona SOPs in gatherings and mourning processions during Muharram. He said that control rooms would be set up at provincial and district level for effective implementation of the security plan.

He added that the Punjab government may seek assistance of Rangers besides banning pillion riding and mobile phone service during Ashura. The representatives of the peace committees suggested carrying out a strict monitoring of unauthentic and provocative religious content on social media. They called for taking immediate steps against those who share material against the companions of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Ahl-i-Bayt. They demanded strict enforcement of laws to curb cyber crimes that could be regarded as the biggest temptation.

The law minister assured that there would be a zero-tolerance policy on cyber crimes and religious hate content on social media. Hoping that religious harmony would be maintained during Muharram, the minister urged the ulema to work together to thwart possible conspiracies of external and internal miscreants by strictly following the security plan for gatherings and mourning processions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020