- Home Department official says religious harmony, law and order to be ensured at all costs
Fanning religious hatred through loudspeaker is a heinous crime under the Sound System (Regulations) Act, 2015, throughout the province under the National Action Plan (NAP), said the spokesperson for the Punjab Home Department on Tuesday, adding that more than 1,363 violators have been penalised.
The spokesperson said that religious harmony and complete law and order would be ensured in the province at every cost. According to him, the government has given permission for use of only one speaker for Azan and sermon under the Act.
He said that in case of violation of this Act, imprisonment of up to six months and a fine from Rs 25,000 to Rs 0.1 million or both could be awarded.
The spokesperson further said the government had set up committees under the district coordination officers (DCOs) for checking record of sale and purchase of weapons and data of weapon dealers in order to purge the province of illegal arms. These committees would complete their proceedings within one and a half months and present a report to the Home Department, he added.
The spokesperson said that strict action would be taken against those involved in arms business through unauthorised persons, illegal sale or purchase and incomplete record of weapons. He said that all arms dealers had been directed to appear before the committees set up for scrutiny of record as per schedule.
The spokesperson further said that only those weapons dealers would be allowed to work whose record would be in accordance with the legal requirements.
He said the Home Department would issue a list of authorised weapon dealers on the reports and proposals of the district committees. He said after scrutiny of the record of arms dealers, it would be computerised with the collaboration of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).