Lahore (Web Desk): The Ministry of Interior has authorised the deployment of Pakistan Army troops in Punjab Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Islamabad to maintain the law and order situation in the two provinces and the federal capital.
As per a notification by the ministry regarding deployment of military troops in Punjab, "Pursuant to the request made by the Home Department Government of Punjab, vide their letter No.SO(IS-II)3-15/2023 (Security) (1) Dated 9 May 2023, the federal government in excise of powers conferred under article 245 of the constitution and Section 4 (3) (ii) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, (to discharge such functions as specified in the said act), is pleased to authorise the deployment of Pakistan Army troops/assets for maintaining law and order situations across the Punjab province in aid of civil power."
It added that the exact numbers of troops/assets, date and area of deployment will be worked out by the provincial government in consultation with the MO Dte, GHQ,” it said.
The notification added that the date of de-requisitioning of the said date would be decided subsequently after mutual consultation among both stakeholders.
The Army has been requested to assist the provincial governments and has been called upon to deploy 10 companies across several districts in Punjab.
The army would be stationed in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Peshawar and other regions to maintain law and order situation.
The development comes a day after violent protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) erupted in several cities on Tuesday after the arrest of party chief and former premier Imran Khan.
Meanwhile, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (KP) government has also sought the services of the Pakistan Army across the province.