Centre writes to Punjab, KP seeking peace amid protests

• "Punjab and KP failing to fulfill obligations," letter states.
• Ensuring protection and liberty of citizens govts' "primary responsibility".
• Centre warns both govts of "serious consequences" if law and order not maintained.

LAHORE: Federal government Tuesday wrote a letter to the provincial governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seeking the maintenance of law and order situation amid the protests following the assassination attack on PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

The government, in its letter, has provided a charge sheet to both the provincial governments warning Punjab and KP of "serious consequences" if law and order is not ensured.

Khan was shot in the legs last week in Wazirabad during the long march and since then, PTI has been holding back-to-back protests across the country, disturbing the daily routine of people and causing damage to property.

Centre has asked the provincial administrations to ensure the protection of the life and liberty of all citizens in the province, as it is their "primary responsibility".

The letter's contents state that citizens are facing problems during the commute and delivery of goods as a result of link roads, highways, and motorways being blocked by small groups of protestors.

It further read that students are also unable to go to school due to the closure of roads. Therefore, protestors should be removed immediately to restore routine movement of citizens, it said.

"It is also adversely affecting the economy of the country. It seems that instead of undertaking efforts to control the situation, the police have assumed the role of silent spectators.

The letter mentioned that the disruption caused by these protestors to the movement of people is in contravention of the Constitution's Article 15, which is being viewed with "great concern" by the Centre.

"It appears that the provincial government is failing in its constitutional/legal obligation to maintain law and order which can have serious consequences. Hence, it is requested to immediately remove the protestors to restore smooth movement on motorways, highways, and link roads," the letter read.

It should be noted that the interior ministry had also written a similar letter to the Government of Punjab on November 5.