According to a recent notice, dated 21st of February, gone viral on social media, the Anjuman-e-tajiran Bilal Ganj has directed traders belonging to the Pashtun community to submit their documents with their respective police stations.

The notice says that this action is being taken as per the instructions  of “sensitive departments” of the Punjab government.

It is further instructed in the notice that these documents must be submitted within the next 48 hours or the anjuman will not be responsible for any legal action that might be taken against the said traders.

Recently, another discriminatory notice also elicited a spirited backlash on social media. In the said notice, the Mandi Bahauddin police had asked citizens to report suspicious looking Pashtuns and Afghans.

When contacted by Pakistan Today, the spokespersons of both Mandi Bahauddin Police and the Office of the Inspector General, Punjab Police confirmed the directives.

Later, the Punjab government strongly denied the presence of any such policy and ordered an investigation into why such a discriminatory notice was issued.

The said notice has been condemned by people from all walks of life including Chairman PTI, Imran Khan, who has strongly criticised this ongoing ‘racial profiling of Pushtuns’ by the Punjab government in a recent tweet.

I strongly condemn the racial profiling of Pushtuns in Punjab. This will create hatred & inadvertently play into the hands of terrorists.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 24, 2017

Read more: Punjab police’s blatant racial profiling