LAHORE: The PPP has called upon the Punjab government to take action against what it called ‘150 sleeper cells’ of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) in the province.

Fawad Chaudhry, the media adviser of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, told Dawn on Tuesday that the party had taken serious notice of a threatening letter sent by the LJ to Bilawal Bhutto.

Ali Sufian who claimed to be a LJ spokesperson said in the letter that his group would kill the PPP chairman for his hostile stance against militants.

Fawad Chaudhry said: “The LJ was involved in the attack on Bilawal Bhutto’s security guards in Karachi and we believe that members of this group were hiding in Punjab.” He accused the provincial government of being reluctant to take action against the LJ.

He said the presence of ‘150 sleeper cells’ of LJ had been disclosed by the interior ministry.

Because of the threats Bilawal Bhutto has deferred his visit to Lahore for an indefinite period. But his media adviser hopes the PPP chairman will soon plan a visit to Punjab.

Fawad Chaudhry said the PPP could not rely on the Punjab government’s security plan for Bilawal Bhutto during his visit to Lahore.

On the other hand, the Punjab government’s special committee headed by the inspector general of police is investigating the issue of threats to Bilawal Bhutto.

IGP office’s spokesperson Nabila Ghazanfar told Dawn that the Punjab police were investigating the matter as directed by the government.

According to a senior police officer, it was being treated as a serious matter.

But, PPP Punjab’s information secretary Raja Amer accused the Punjab government of having close links with the LJ and, therefore, not interested in acting against the banned group.

He accused Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah of working as the mouthpiece of the LJ. PPP Punjab’s president Manzoor Wattoo said his party would constitute its own committee to closely monitor the Punjab government’s investigation.

He said Bilawal Bhutto might address party workers in Punjab through video link.