Punjab Police remained on high alert and ensured foolproof security arrangements during Christian worship and prayer programmes held in churches across the province, including Lahore, on Sunday.
Inspector General of Police Punjab Abdul Kareem had earlier directed all RPOs, DPOs and senior police officers to further enhance security measures at churches and other sensitive locations.
According to a Punjab Police spokesperson, supervisory officers personally inspected security arrangements at churches and important places, while additional police personnel and snipers were deployed at sensitive churches to avert any untoward incident.
Dolphin Squad, Police Response Unit (PRU) and Elite Force teams also carried out effective patrolling around churches and adjoining areas.
The IG Punjab directed deployed officers and personnel to remain highly vigilant and maintain close monitoring of suspicious elements. Search and sweep operations were also conducted around churches, Christian localities and other sensitive areas.
Abdul Kareem emphasized the importance of interfaith harmony and urged religious scholars, members of the Christian community and peace committees to continue promoting unity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence in society.
Crackdown on criminal elements
Punjab Police continued intelligence-based and combing operations across the province, including Lahore, to further strengthen the law and order situation and curb criminal activities.
A Punjab Police spokesperson said on Sunday that during the current year, 152 intelligence-based operations had been conducted across the province, during which more than 11,000 individuals were questioned and 160 criminals taken into custody.
He said that during the same period, 77,501 combing operations were carried out across Punjab, including Lahore, in which over 2.341 million individuals were questioned, while 10,771 criminals and suspicious persons were arrested.
During these operations, police recovered 58 Kalashnikovs, 213 rifles, 1,999 pistols, 152 guns, 44 revolvers and thousands of bullets from the possession of criminal elements.
The spokesperson further said that 3,900 drug peddlers were arrested during the combing operations and 3,890 cases registered against them. Police recovered 2,536 kilograms of charas, 278 kilograms of heroin, 102 kilograms of ice, 47 kilograms of opium and 43,514 litres of liquor from the accused.
Inspector General of Police Punjab Abdul Kareem directed that intelligence-based and combing operations should continue without interruption to bring anti-state and criminal elements to justice. He further instructed police officers to make the door-knocking process more effective and coordinated to prevent activities of terrorists and miscreants and ensure protection of the lives and property of citizens.