The Sindh Home department has imposed Section 144 across the province for a period of one month to maintain law and order in the interest of “peace and public”, according to a notification issued on Sunday.
Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit a gathering of four or more people in an area for a limited period.
According to the notification, a copy of which is available with dawn.com“Article 144 is imposed to prevent all types of protests, demonstrations, sit-ins and rallies and assemblies of more than five people throughout the province of Sindh, for a period of one month.
“The Government of Sindh is convinced that in order to maintain law and order and prevent miscreants from gathering in a manner detrimental to public safety in the province of Sindh, immediate action is necessary.”
He added that the police stations concerned had the authority to register complaints under Section 188 of the PPC (Disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) against persons violating the ban.
The notification was issued after the religious political party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) began marching towards Islamabad to express “solidarity with the Palestinians”, following clashes with police in Lahore on Friday.
Law enforcement repeatedly attempted to contain the demonstration near the group’s headquarters by erecting barricades and containers and using tear gas and other crowd control measures. The group is currently camped in Muridke.
