Police made strict security arrangements to deal with a possibility of more agitation in the city on Tuesday, including a long march threatened earlier by a banned group.
Though the government had announced negotiations with the group, the authorities started taking extraordinary security measures overnight.
Punjab police chief Inam Ghani, while chairing a meeting a day earlier, had asked police officers to prevent any violent gatherings or protests and take strict action against whoever tried to take the law into their own hands.
Those who damaged public and private property and blocked roads for citizens did not deserve any concession, he asserted.
Heavy contingents of police were deployed at the entry and exit points of the provincial capital and over a dozen potential flashpoints, including the surroundings of the group's headquarters.
Police had also impounded shipping containers and placed them at various points in case a need arose to seal the city or contain the movement of protesters.
Meanwhile, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mahmood Dogar distributed cheques of grant among police officials who were tortured by activists of the proscribed party while trying to maintain law and order. During a ceremony, cheques were given to 103 officials, including Inspectors Imran Mehboob, Asif Atta, Touqeer Anjun and Sub Inspectors Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Naeem, Javed Akhtar and Tanveer.
Cheques of Rs100,000 each were given to Constables Israr Ahmad and Idrees Ahmad who had suffered severe injuries.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2021.
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