Rangers have reportedly been authorized to arrest without warrant and shoot any miscreant who threatens to destabilize the state or harm its citizens and their property during the protests by the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
According to media reports, Pakistan Rangers that were deployed to maintain law and order in the wake of the banned organization’s advance towards Rawalpindi, have been given powers like those typically exercised by the Punjab police. Rangers would be allowed to seize weapons, enter premises without warrants and fire at any person thought to be involved in any anti-state activity.
Simultaneous to media reports, pictures of banners warning the banned organization to go home also emerged on social media. Journalist Tarhub Asghar tweeted the banner, which warned protesters that the rangers were authorized to shoot anyone causing agitation. The banner, undersigned by Punjab Rangers, strictly ordered everyone to go home. Asghar said that the banners were placed near Gujrat to prevent protestors from marching on to Islamabad.
Punjab Rangers have been granted the powers under Article 147 of the Constitution, according to which provincial governments, with the consent of the federal government, can grant authority to federal officers. The use of force by Rangers has been authorized under Section 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, which allows army or civil officers to use any means necessary against troublemakers, provided sufficient warning has been given in advance.
