Will not allow anyone to create state within state: Punjab govt

LAHORE: The spokesperson to the Punjab government Hassan Khawar said on Friday that nobody will be allowed to create state within a state, ARY News reported.

While commenting over the ongoing protests of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Hassan Khawar said that the sit-ins are badly affecting the daily routines in Punjab.

The spokesperson said that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar kept a close eye on the current situation. He added that the provincial government desires to resolve the issues through understanding.

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Khawar asked the opposition to refrain from point-scoring by politicising the issue.

Earlier in the day, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that as many as 32 men associated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have been rounded up for their involvement in propaganda on social media.

“32 members of the banned outfit have been apprehended in an overnight operation. These people were peddling hatred-based propaganda through fake social media accounts,” he revealed in a Twitter post.

READ: PM IMRAN KHAN-LED NSC AGREES NOT TO ALLOW TLP TO CHALLENGE STATE’S WRIT

He added that more arrests are likely to be made soon as the government has launched a clampdown on fake news and propaganda.

Yesterday, the deadlock persisted as the government and the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) had concluded two rounds of talks.

Earlier, the talks between proscribed TLP and the government’s teams had resumed after the earlier phase ended in failure.

READ: TLP RIOTS: PM IMRAN KHAN TO ADDRESS NATION

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri had represented the government, whereas, chief of proscribed group TLP Saad Rizvi also participated in the talks having a three-point agenda.

The Punjab government had deployed paramilitary Rangers in eight districts of the province.

The Rangers force was deployed for 60 days in the province, sources at the provincial home department said.

Rangers personnel were posted in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Gujrat and Faisalabad districts.