Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on Sunday morning that the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) home department had released a statement clarifying that the situation in the region was “completely peaceful”.
On Saturday, the GB government, which has been dealing with a tense situation for over a week, had dismissed reports of army deployment as baseless, saying it had requisitioned the services of Pakistan Army and civil armed forces to maintain law and order only for the chehlum of Imam Hussain falling next week
However, mobile internet service had been suspended across the region by the authorities till further orders. The decision came after two clerics from different schools of thought made insensitive remarks over the past few days, hurting the feelings of the respective communities.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Solangi quoted the statement released by the GB home department which clarified that reports regarding the deployment of Pakistan Army were “completely baseless”.
“All roads, trade centres, business activities and educational institutions in GB are open as usual,” he said.
The minister said that services of the Pakistan Army and the civil armed forces had been requisitioned “only to maintain law and order” on the eve of the chehlum.
“Moreover, special measures have been taken for the security of the procession routes and imambargahs as per past practice,” he said.
The minister said that the GB home department had also stated that Section 144 had been imposed across the region to maintain law and order, protect lives and property of the people and avoid any untoward incident.
