LAHORE: The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order held under the chairmanship of Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Environment Protection and Cooperatives Raja Muhammad Basharat on Wednesday accorded approval to various important proposals. As per the decisions, the Cabinet committee approved arrangements and security plan for the 553rd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Ji, the founder of Sikhism.
The meeting was informed that around 3,000 Sikh yatris from India and around 10,000-15,000 local Sikh and Hindu pilgrims will also participate in the birthday celebrations.
The central ceremony of the birth anniversary will be held on November 8 at Gurudwara Janam Asthan Nankana Sahib.
The arrival of the Sikh yatris will start from November 6 and they will also pay visits to Farooqabad, Lahore, Aimanabad, Hasan Abdal and Kartarpur Sahib to perform religious rituals.
Chairman Committee Raja Basharat vowed that the government will ensure provision of all necessary facilities to the Sikh pilgrims in Punjab at every holy site.
The Cabinet committee directed the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) to include additional grant request for the purchase of new equipment in the annual supplementary budget while considered the provision of additional funds to police for operations against criminal gangs in Katcha area of district Rajanpur.
Raja Basharat observed that 1,675 policemen have been deployed in Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur for security purposes. Meanwhile, the Punjab police requested the Cabinet committee to approve the amount incurred against expenses in recent by-elections. However, the committee observed that only emergency expenses can be presented for approval in this forum.
The minister suggested the Police department to approach the Punjab government for the clearance of expenditure amount incurred on the by-elections. The meeting was told that 100 applications for release on parole came for approval in the Parole Board of the Home Department, out of which 34 applications have been approved.
The committee chairman said it is not appropriate for the Parole Board to reject 46 applications out of 100.
“By releasing prisoners on parole, the burden on prisons could be reduced,” noted Basharat and directed to reconstitute the Provincial Parole Board and give representation to Police, Special Branch and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). Provincial Transport Minister Munib Sultan Cheema and concerned officials also attended the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022