Lahore, November 18, 2025: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari on Tuesday asserted that law and order is primarily a provincial responsibility and said the Punjab government has enforced an “effective and comprehensive” strategy to maintain peace across the province.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Bukhari said police had recovered a cache of weapons from a banned extremist organisation, including tear gas shells and bulletproof jackets. She added that provincial authorities had frozen assets worth Rs2.34 billion linked to the group and blocked 52 bank accounts associated with its network.
The minister said 90 financiers of the group had been booked, while 32 FIRs were registered against individuals involved in issuing threats and spreading extremist content on social media. She accused the proscribed organisation of “misusing religion” to incite unrest.
Highlighting efforts to strengthen regulation of religious institutions, Bukhari said the government had geo-tagged nearly 73,000 mosques and completed registration of 84 percent of all mosques in Punjab. She added that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had approved a modest monthly allowance for imams in recognition of their community role.
On the issue of Afghan refugees, the minister said the Punjab government had facilitated the repatriation of 6,220 Afghan migrants, with only a small number of undocumented individuals remaining in the province. She said the provincial administration would consult the federal government regarding Afghan nationals residing in other provinces.
Responding to questions on the security situation, she claimed that crime rates had declined in several districts. Citing media reports, she said Lahore was now considered safer than London and New York.
When asked about a recent international publication’s article on a former prime minister, Bukhari said that if any outlet, including The Economist, had misrepresented facts, it was up to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to pursue legal action.
Bukhari added that the Punjab government’s foremost responsibility remained safeguarding citizens’ lives and property, while ensuring transparency and accountability in all law enforcement actions.
