LAHORE: The Punjab Home Department has extended the enforcement of Section 144 across the province for another seven days, keeping restrictions in place until November 15.
According to an official notification, all kinds of public gatherings, protests, rallies, sit-ins, and similar activities will remain banned during this period.
The order also prohibits the assembly of four or more people in public places.
A spokesperson for the department said that the display of weapons, use of loudspeakers (except for Azaan and Friday sermons), and dissemination of hate or sectarian material will remain strictly prohibited. The extension, the spokesperson added, aims to maintain law and order and safeguard lives and property.
The provincial government decided to continue the restrictions in view of potential threats to public peace and the risk of terrorist activities. However, the ban will not apply to weddings, funerals, or official duties performed by government officers and court proceedings.
When was Section 144 Imposed Earlier?
Earlier, the ban was imposed on October 8 for ten days and then for further seven days on October 18 due to security threats amid continuing tensions with the banned party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
After the violent protests in Lahore, and an overnight operation in Muridke on October 13, the Punjab government had moved to ban the outfit, sending a summary to he federal government.
Subsequently, the notification, under Section 11B (1)(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, stated that the federal government ordered the TLP to be a proscribed organisation under the Act and listed the aforesaid organisation in the first schedule to the said Act.
After this, the Ministry of Interior issued a notification regarding the ban on the TLP, stating that the federal government has “reasonable grounds to believe that TLP is connected and involved in terrorism”.
Also read: Punjab extends Section 144 for seven days over security concerns
