Islamabad [Pakistan], May 13 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday ordered authorities to arrest all culprits and attackers responsible for the vandalism and arson at the Jinnah House and military and civil installations within 72 hours, ARY News reported.
Shehbaz Sharif gave the instructions while chairing a meeting at the Punjab Safe City Authority Headquarters in Lahore. He said, "All the culprits, planners, instigators, and attackers involved in the vandalism should be arrested in the next 72 hours," ARY News reported.
Pakistan PM Sharif further said, "This is a critical task that requires swift action to ensure the safety and security of our citizens." He expressed regret over the destruction of the Safe City Project during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tenure.
Shehbaz Sharif said, "I am deeply disturbed by this situation, and I would like to request the chief minister to take immediate action." Sharif said that he made it clear to Punjab's caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi that any act of sabotage is unacceptable and those behind wrongdoing will be arrested and brought to court for justice, as per the ARY News report.
Sharif said that he was told that CCTV cameras ranging from 40 to 60 per cent were found to be non-functional in the past five years. He said that the Safe City System designed to protect people has suffered due to criminal negligence. He also instructed to increase the number of anti-terrorism courts in the province where the legal proceedings against all these culprits should begin swiftly.
"It is time to do or die or now or never. The real culprits who showed this kind of enmity against the motherland should be arrested and produced in anti-terrorism courts under the relevant laws. These elements should be arrested immediately," ARY News quoted Shehbaz Sharif as saying.
Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, "I have given law enforcement apparatus a target of 72 hours to arrest all those involved in facilitating, abetting and perpetrating the disgraceful incidents of arson, ransacking, sabotage & damaging public & private properties. All available resources including technological aid & intelligence are being deployed to chase down these elements. Bringing these people to justice is a test case for the government. Their cases will be tried by the anti-terrorism courts."
Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab's caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi visited the vandalised Lahore Corps Commander House where he extended solidarity with the country's military leadership, according to ARY News. He also visited the Services Hospital to meet with the injured personnel.
The arrest of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Tuesday outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) resulted in protests and demonstrations by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters across Pakistan.
PTI workers held protests in cities across the country, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, and Mardan, Geo News reported. They pelted stones at police vehicles and tore down street lights.
PTI supporters shouted slogans like "Release Imran Khan," and "Shut down Pakistan," in the streets of Lahore, Faizabad, Bannu, and Peshawar.
Meanwhile, the unrest in Pakistan has come to a halt for now as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted blanket relief to Imran Khan and barred authorities from arresting him till May 15.
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