The crackdown on PML-N supporters defying curfews to express their support for Nawaz Sharif continues in Punjab, with more reports of arrests and bookings today from the cities of Sialkot and Daska.

Police said that the booked PML-N workers indulged in hate speech against law enforcement agencies when they were halted by them in a bid to maintain the law and order situation there.

More on this here.

While it is commendable that the Punjab authorities are taking law and order seriously, election observers have cautioned the Punjab government to exercise restraint and desist from needlessly curtailing election related activity.

The right to free expression is a fundamental right that should not be repressed with an election around the corner.

We continue to hope that cooler heads will prevail.