A meeting of the Divisional Peace Committee was convened under the leadership of Regional Police Officer (RPO) Dera Ghazi Khan Muhammad Azhar Akram and Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed Chaudhry to evaluate security and administrative preparations for Muharram-ul-Haram. The session focused on law and order, security measures, and other arrangements for the holy month, with particular emphasis on preserving religious harmony and ensuring the peaceful observance of processions and gatherings throughout the division.
Participants and Agenda
The meeting was attended by District Police Officers (DPOs), Deputy Commissioners from all districts of the region, and senior religious scholars from various schools of thought who serve as members of the Divisional Peace Committee. At the outset, participants paid tribute to the police and district administration for maintaining law and order and ensuring cleanliness during Eidul Adha. In a related development, the Muzaffargarh DPO announced a crackdown against drug dealers.
Commitment to Peace
Religious scholars and representatives of different schools of thought assured their full cooperation in implementing the already agreed code of conduct and prior agreements to maintain peace and harmony during Muharram. They reiterated their commitment to avoiding sectarian differences and expressed confidence that Muharram would pass peacefully, as in previous years.
Address by RPO
Addressing the meeting, RPO Muhammad Azhar Akram termed the prevailing harmony and mutual respect among different schools of thought as encouraging and exemplary. He urged religious scholars and speakers to refrain from delivering provocative speeches that could hurt the sentiments of any group and stressed strict adherence to procession routes, timings, and the code of conduct issued by the authorities. He highlighted the critical role of religious scholars in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and called upon peace committee members to promote inter-faith harmony from mosques and pulpits. He further directed that peace committee members should accompany processions in sensitive areas to help ensure law and order.
Commissioner's Remarks
Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed Chaudhry said Muharram-ul-Haram teaches patience, tolerance, and brotherhood, emphasizing the need for unity among religious scholars and restraint in religious discourse. He stated that the main objective of the Divisional Peace Committee meeting was to convey a message of unity and consensus, adding that, as in the past, Muharram processions and religious gatherings would be conducted peacefully across the division. In a separate incident, a boy drowned in a water-filled pit in Multan.
