Crackdown launched against hardliners
Local lawyer volunteers to help victims of three-day violence in claiming damages
Pakistan police yesterday arrested nearly 250 people from across the country on charges of arson, vandalism and violence during the three-day mass protests following the acquittal of Christian woman Asia Bibi.
A day after striking a deal with the radical Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the government swung into action as it started a crackdown against the people who vandalised public properties during the protests.
On the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan federal and provincial (Punjab, Sindh and KP) governments have started registering cases against Khadim Rizvi, Pir Afzal Qadri — the two main leaders of the TLP — and their activists.
According to a senior police officer, police with the help of video clips on social media will nab all those involved in ransacking markets, physically torturing/beating police and civilians and setting buses, cars and wagons on fire.
Help will be sought from other agencies including Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), he said.
Interior Ministry has also started uploading pictures of the protesters involved in criminal activities.
Free legal aid
Meanwhile, an Islamabadbased advocate of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has offered free legal aid to all those who have suffered during the protests.
According to a rough estimate the volume of loss to public property has been estimated to Rs150 billion (Dh4.16 billion).
Advocate Tahir Chughtai while talking to Gulf News said he and his fellow lawyers have been approached by a number of those whose cars, motorbikes and even heavy vehicles were torched in the protests.