ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said that the government will not allow the entry of violent protesters into the federal capital at any cost.

Speaking at a law and order meeting, while talking about the next long march by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which the party is contemplating on starting any time soon, he said, the government will not allow entry of violent protest into the capital at any cost.

We cannot leave our people at the mercy of violent mobs and miscreants; therefore, we will not let any such march enter the capital.

He further said that the violent march and miscreants would be crushed and those who take the law into their hands will be dealt with an iron hand. “The federal cabinet during its previous meeting has strongly condemned the attacks and torturing of police, Rangers and FC personnel by miscreants of recent violent protest which was staged by the PTI”, he said.

The meeting was attended by the secretary Ministry of Interior Yousaf Naseem Khokar, Commandant Frontier Constabulary (FC) Salahudin Khan Mehsud, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir, Chief Commissioner Aamir Ali Ahmed, and other senior officials.

The meeting decided that the government will provide more financial, technical resources and legal support to Islamabad police and the FC to deal with the law and order situation in Islamabad and furthermore, police salaries and allowances would be equalized to Punjab police. It is also decided to pay the pending amount of one billion for “Police Shuhada package” immediately and the FC will be given training to work as an anti-riot force.

The minister further said that Safe City project in Islamabad would be upgraded like Lahore to ensure fool proof security of the city, maintain law and order as well as curb street crimes.

The meeting decided that the coordination between police and administrations of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi would be further improved.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022