LAHORE: The Standing Committee of Cabinet on Law and Order on Wednesday decided to form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe attack on PTI Chairman Imran Khan near Wazirabad last week.

Punjab Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basharat Raja chaired the meeting through video link from Rawalpindi, while Chief Minister’s Adviser (Home) Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal and other officials participated in the meeting from civil secretariat.

The cabinet body reviewed in detail the security arrangements for the next phase of PTI’s long march resuming on Thursday (today). The DIG (operations) gave a briefing about the security plan.

The meeting decided that Additional Inspector General Highway Patrol Punjab Riyaz Nazir Garah will lead the JIT while other members include representatives from the security agencies concerned.

The cabinet committee also decided that senior PTI leaders present on the container will be provided with the same security reserved for former prime minister Imran Khan. Committee chairman Basharat Raja directed that the police and the respective district administration should keep in touch with the local leadership of PTI to avoid any untoward incident in future. “Unnecessary presence of vehicles near the container will be prevented”, Mr Raja directed. In the wake of the Wazirabad incident, he said, bullet-proof rostrum and glass would be mandatorily installed on the long march container.

The committee, while reviewing the situation in other areas including Rawalpindi, decided that the obstacles in the way of the motorways will be removed soon; especially the PTI leadership will be talked to give way to the vehicles of honourable judges.

It merits mentioning that the Gujranwala city police officer had issued a threat alert on Nov 1 that the VIP security needed to be beefed up and required use of bullet-proof shield, rostrum and stage. “The bullet-proof shield and rostrum along with screen has reached Gujranwala and needed to be installed on the container for the protection of Imran Khan,” the Nov 1 threat alert reads.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2022