Social media accounts: FIA arrests 12 members of proscribed outfit

According to a statement issued by the FIA, 12 people were arrested during the crackdown in Lahore, Faisalabad, Nankana Sahab, Islamabad, and other cities of Punjab.

The arrested individuals were involved in uploading hate-inciting material and doctored images on the internet through the proscribed organisation's social media handles.

Those arrested were identified as Shahzeb Nazeer, Naeem, Ayub, Muhammad Hussain, Muhammad Hassan, Ghulam Shabbir, and Hamza Sheikh, among others.

Furthermore, the Gujranwala police booked 119 nominated and 2,000 unidentified members of banned religious outfit.

Police inserted 16 multiple offences including attempted murder, kidnap, dacoity, sabotage, damage to public property and anti-terrorism. The complainant, who is the Kamuke SHO, said protesters snatched police gadgets, vehicles and motorcycles from the riot police and escaped. As many seven policemen suffered injuries in attack.

CM chairs law and order meeting 

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired a meeting on Thursday to review the provincial law & order situation and the steps taken for the protection of life and property of the people. 

Law Minister Raja Basharat, SACM Hasaan Khawar, chief secretary, IG police, ACS (Home), additional IG (Special Branch) and Principal Secretary to CM attended the meeting. 

The CM directed to take every step to maintain law and order in the province.

"I apologize to the people for the difficulties faced by them due to the closure of roads," the CM maintained and asserted that permission cannot be granted to disrupt the routine life.

The state would fulfill the responsibility of protecting the life and property of the people, the CM concluded.

Fawad rules out negotiation with TLP until roads clearance, handing over of killers

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Thursday ruled out possibility of negotiations with proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) until it cleared all the roads and handed over the culprits, who martyred policemen during recent clashes.

Fawad made the announcement in a tweet while urging patriots to distance themselves away from the ongoing protests of the proscribed TLP and return home instead of becoming part of a campaign which as tantamount to terrorism against state.

Meanwhile, in another tweet, the minister, responding to a journalist’s question, made it clear that there was a difference between protest of a ‘political party’ and a ‘proscribed party’.

He also cited the example of protest launched by different political parties including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

All those political movements were not armed, he said, adding it was unfortunate that some ‘half baked intellechawals’ were trying to portray ‘terrorism’ of a banned organization as a ‘political matter’.