The caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, has given the police a “free hand” to establish the state’s authority in the province. This decision follows politically-motivated hostilities that turned a posh neighborhood of the provincial capital into a battleground.
Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) clashed with police in Lahore and Islamabad last week as they attempted to arrest the party’s chairman, Imran Khan. Naqvi had earlier asked law enforcement agencies to hold back, but during a press conference, he shared that he would no longer do so.
The interim CM also announced the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to look into the incidents that occurred in the last five to seven days.
Naqvi emphasized that it was crucial to establish the writ of the government and that the police had been given the green light to use force to do so. The caretaker CM accused the PTI of perpetrating “terrorism” and stated that a notification would be issued by evening regarding the formation of a JIT.
