Interim information minister reiterates media reports regarding deployment of Pakistan Army ‘completely baseless’
Islamabad
The home department of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) issued a statement on Sunday to assert that the “situation in G-B is completely peaceful” terming media reports pertaining to the deployment of the Pakistan Army as “completely baseless”.
Interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi took to X, formerly Twitter, today to clarify that “news and speculations circulating in media regarding the deployment of Pakistan Army are completely baseless”.
“All roads, trade centers, business activities and educational institutions in G-B are open as usual. The services of Pakistan Army and Civil Armed Forces have been requisitioned only to maintain law and order on the eve of Chehlam of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA),” he said.
The interim minister added that “special measures have been taken for the security of procession routes and Imambargahs as per past practice”.
Referring to the provincial department’s statement, he said that “Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 has been imposed across the region to maintain law and order, protect lives and property of the people and avoid any untoward incident”.
The G-B government had decided to call in the army to quell escalating unrest in the region on the Parliamentary Peace Committee’s – which decides law and order matters – decision on Friday, according to earlier reports.
The day after, state media APP, reported that the G-B home department had denied such reports as “baseless” and that the situation in the region was “completely peaceful”.
Media reports had earlier stated that the G-B government had imposed Section 144 in Diamer’s Chilas, a ban on the display of weapons, aerial firing, religious gatherings and any attempts to obstruct highways as a form of protest.
It had also reportedly decided to deploy Rangers, G-B Scouts and Frontier Corps personnel in major cities across the region.
