An important meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee was chaired by the Caretaker Chief Min-ister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Azam Khan which discussed law and order situation in the prov-ince in the contest of the violent incident on May 9. Caretaker Information Minister, Corps Commander Peshawar, Chief Secretary and IGP besides senior Civil and Military officials attended the Provincial Apex Committee Meeting.
The Divisional Commissioners participated in the meeting through video link. In the meeting, delib-erations and important decisions on the plan of ac-tion for effective remediation of unpleasant inci-dents like May 9. There was a detailed briefing on various important issues related to law and order in the province by the concerned authorities. The meeting fully condemned the violent incidents on May 9 and expressed regret for the loss of life and property in these incidents. Incidents like May 9 cannot be tolerated under any circumstances, the Provincial Apex Committee said.
The elements involved in the violence on May 9 will be severely punished, the Provincial Apex Committee decided. There was a thorough briefing to the participants of the meeting on the violent protests on May 9 at different places in the province and the damages caused in them. The Provincial Apex Committee was also briefed by the concerned quarters on the steps taken so far to arrest those involved in violent protests. All the people involved in the arson and vandalism during these protests have been identified, said in the briefing.
In the meeting, it was decided to ban the protests in the Assembly Chowk of the provincial capital Pe-shawar and the meeting directed the concerned au-thorities to take necessary steps to allot alternative suitable places for protest demonstrations. Decision to take short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to strengthen the anti-rights squad of the Police. It was decided to immediately provide Rs 303 million for purchase of modern equipment for Anti-Rites Squad (ARS) while Rs. 601 million would be given in the second phase.
