Policing Powers Of Rangers In Punjab
The Punjab government on the 25th of August 2017 extended the policing powers of Rangers in the province for another sixty (60) days, under a notification issued by the Interior Ministry dated 22nd August 2017.
The Rangers will continue to have policing and other necessary powers for the prevention of terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, for sixty (60) days starting 21st August 2017, according to the notification.
The decision to deploy Rangers in Punjab came in the aftermath of a suicide attack at Charing Cross on Lahore’s Mall Road on the 13th of February 2017, which took the lives of fourteen (14) people, including police officials.
Punjab is termed by many to be a hotbed for militants and banned outfits, but the Provincial government has been reluctant to call in Rangers, as it apprehends a Karachi like the situation with the paramilitary force acting independently of provincial authorities.
