Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday said the burning of Christian homes and shops in Lahore’s Badami Bagh was a nefarious attempt to tarnish the image of Pakistan.
He was presiding over a meeting at Model Town to review the progress of relief and rehabilitation activities. Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, lawmakers Rana Sanaullah, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, Hamza Shahbaz, Pervaiz Malik, Malik Riaz, Asad Ashraf, Chaudhry Shahbaz, Rana Muhammad Iqbal and officers concerned were present.
He said the Punjab government would bring the elements responsible for the incident before the law and due punishment would be ensured as they deserved no leniency. He said the Punjab government had sent a letter to the Lahore High Court registrar for judicial inquiry into the incident. The CM directed police to accelerate the process of apprehending the persons responsible by identifying them in the light of video footage. He said that challans against those who have been arrested should immediately be sent to the Anti-Terrorism Court.
Shahbaz said his government would fulfill all responsibilities with regard to the tragic incident. He said that the process of provision of financial assistance to the affected families has been started while the repair work of the houses and shops of the victims was also being initiated. He ordered the authorities concerned to assess the losses as soon as possible and a case-to-case review should be made. He said that the government was making efforts for compensating the Christian community.
He said the Punjab government had announced financial assistance to the victims and the process of payment has also been started, while immediate payment of compensation for houses would be ensured after assessment of losses. The CM said that relief camp had been set up in the affected area which was working.
Shahbaz said the affected families had started returning to their homes and provincial ministers, assembly members and district administration officials were supervising the process of their rehabilitation.