LAHORE: Identifying illegal weapons as the biggest issue of the province, Law Minister Basharat Raja said on Monday steps were being taken by the provincial government to overcome the menace.

He was concluding an open debate on law and order in the Punjab Assembly.

He said the government was also recruiting 5,000 constables to resolve the issue of understaffing in the police department, while 500 new vehicles would also be provided to the law-enforcers.

The vehicles, he claimed, were being provided to police after 15 years as the PML-N government never gave them the automobiles, while it also kept suspended provision of fuel to the Punjab Highway Patrol Police, rendering the force ineffective though it had successfully curtailed crime rate during Pervaiz Elahi’s tenure as chief minister.

Arguing that performance could be expected from any force only after facilitating it, he said the government would also revive the police funds blocked by the Shahbaz administration 15 years ago.

Pledges police funds ‘restoration’

Referring to the Sahiwal killings issue raised by the PPP’s Hassan Murtaza, the minister said the MPA did not give complete information to the house. He claimed the government completed the challan and submitted it with the court of law, unlike the legal procedures ignored by the PML-N in the Model Town tragedy case, where the FIR was registered only after months-long sit-ins by the victims’ families.

He also condemned the workers-police clash outside the NAB offices at the arrival of PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz.

Earlier, the opposition grilled the government over the deteriorating law and order situation in the province. They said crime could not be controlled by just changing the “top cop”, but there should be a change in “another coveted office”.

Senior PML-N lawmaker from Gujranwala Chaudhry Iqbal opened the debate.

Mr Murtaza said if Zulifqar Ali Bhutto could be sentenced (in a murder case), why not a ‘sepoy’.

He said the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) was changed because he refused to arrest the political workers (of the PML-N).

He asked if anyone has had the courage to speak on (financial matters of) ISPR former director general Asim Saleem Bajwa, and added that problems of the people would be resolved only if law was applied equally to everyone.

The session was later put off for Tuesday afternoon.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2020