LAHORE: Punjab formally approached the federal government on Monday for deployment of Rangers in the province to purge it of terrorists, their facilitators and financiers.

In line with the decision taken at a meeting of the provincial apex committee on Sunday, the provincial government forwarded a request in writing to the federal government so that the paramilitary force could be put at the disposal of Punjab for summoning it when and where needed.

However, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan thinks the Rangers will also be empowered to act on their own if a situation so demanded while the force will be authorised to conduct search operations.

In other cases, he says, the paramilitary force and provincial law enforcement agencies, including police and Counter-Terrorism Department, will conduct joint operations.

A joint action committee will be formed to oversee the activities, he added.

The minister, however, argues that provincial security agencies have already been conducting “effective and result-oriented operations”.

A Rangers-led operation against terrorist sanctuaries in Punjab has been a long-standing demand of the opposition, but the ruling PML-N has resisted it all along out of a fear that the paramilitary force might overshadow working of the provincial government, recalling Karachi as an instance.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2017