An extraordinary cabinet meeting on Thursday, chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, has made a series of decisions to enforce the rule of law and maintain the public order in the Punjab province

According to the sources, the Punjab government will recommend to the federal government banning the violent extremist religious group that has been involved in carrying out anti-state activities, including attacking the police officials, destroying public infrastructure, and spreading unrest through hate speeches.

The Punjab government will also call forth the leadership of the religious group to be put in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Assets of the extremist party will be handed over to the Auqaf Department. Posters, banners, advertisements, and social media accounts linked to the party will face a complete ban, and all its bank accounts will be frozen.

Strict penalties have been set for illegal weapons possession, including 14 years imprisonment and a Rs2 million fine. A one-month deadline has been issued for citizens to register legal weapons, and inspections of weapon dealers’ stocks have been ordered. The issuance of new weapon licenses in Punjab has been suspended.

The government also decided to bring Afghan residents into the tax system, prepare real-time data of illegal Afghan nationals, and launch operations against illegal residents.

Violations of the Loudspeaker Act and other public order laws will be dealt with strictly.