218 people booked over anti-hindu riots
ISLAMABAD: Police have booked more than 200 people in connection with the violent anti-hindu riots in Sindh’s Ghotki district.
Officials said three separate cases were filed in which a total of 218 people have been booked. Sukkur additional inspector general of police Jamil Ahmed said all three cases have been registered on behalf of the state.
“This is a warning to all such miscreants that no one will be allowed to challenge the writ of the state,” he said. Five of the 61 identified accused have been arrested, he said later on Twitter. Ghotki’s Hindu community breathed a sigh of relief after political and religious leaders sat down in the Sacho Satram Das temple and assured them of their full support.
On Sunday, hundreds of people went on a rampage in Ghotki after Notan Lal, the Hindu owner of the Sindh Public School, was accused of passing blasphemous remarks by a student. The mob vandalised the school and at least five shops in Jilani market owned by members of the Hindu community, and desecrated the Sacho Satram Das temple.
In the first case registered against the rioters, 45 people have been booked under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class). In the second case, 150 people - 27 identified and 123 unidentified - have been accused of blocking roads and disrupting vehicular traffic.
A total of 23 people - 12 identified and 11 unidentified - have been booked in the third case which pertains to ransacking and damage to property.
A student of the SPS, Muhammad Ihtisham, had complained to his father that Lal allegedly passed derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad .
SINGER THREATENS PM MODI WITH SNAKES
Legal action has been initiated against Lahore-based singer and host Rabi Pirzada, who posted a video on her Youtube channel in which she held a snake, while standing with more snakes and a crocodile, and passed threatening remarks against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“All these are gifts for Modi. My friends will feast on you,” she said.
The Punjab Wildlife Protection and Parks Department initiated legal action against her for keeping exotic animals including an alligator, four pythons and snakes as pets at her beauty salon in the city. If convicted, she can be imprisoned for up to five years and will have to pay a fine.
IMF DELEGATION ARRIVES IN PAKISTAN
An IMF delegation led by its director of the Middle East and Central Asia Jihad Azour arrived in Pakistan on Monday for meetings with top officials. The team will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other officials of the Pakistani government during its visit.
The delegation will be briefed on the use of the first tranche of the $6 billion loan it has extended to Pakistan, tax revenue, the trade deficit, rupee value, new monetary policy and methods to improve non-tax revenue.