Govt vows strict action against miscreants who destroyed public property

The interior ministry announced on Saturday it would register cases against all those “miscreants who under the guise of peaceful protests caused destruction to property and harmed helpless citizens” during the three-day protests against the acquittal of Asia Bibi.

In a statement, the ministry said it respects the ulema’s stance that they had no involvement in any of the destruction which they too had attributed to “miscreant elements”.

Steps are being taken to identify these miscreants, the statement added.

The ministry also said the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have both been directed to investigate propaganda circulated on social media to incite hate.

Additionally, the chairman of the cybercrime wing along with the PTA chairman have been instructed to obtain “the forensic data of the miscreants”.

“The interior ministry will also initiate criminal proceedings against all those who spread extremist and hateful propaganda on social media,” the statement said.

To this end, all camera footage will be analysed so these individuals can be identified.

“All the miscreant elements identified will be arrested and cases registered against them,” the ministry has stated.

The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other religiopolitical parties had launched countrywide protests on Wednesday after the Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi, who had been on death row for the past nine years on blasphemy charges.

Last night, the government and the TLP had signed a deal to conclude the latter’s nationwide protest. One of the concessions the government agreed to was to release all people picked up in connection with the protests starting October 30.