Exercise to eliminate evil has just begun: Naeemul Haque

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs, Naeemul Haque on Monday took a jibe at the “armchair observers” commenting on the government’s deal with the rioters that saw an end to the protests, and said the “exercise to eliminate evil has just begun.”

“Armchair observers rushing to immature judgements on how the government has ‘failed’,” he tweeted.

“Unaware of the facts these drawing room pundits rush to judgement even as the exercise to eliminate evil has just begun. Calm down folks. Wait and see,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said.

Criminal proceedings were initiated by the government over the weekend, as police registered cases and arrested those involved in damaging property and harassing citizens during countrywide demonstrations following a Supreme Court verdict acquitting Asia Bibi – a Christian woman who had been on death row for eight years in a blasphemy case.

In Islamabad alone, 500 people have been booked and 12 arrested for inciting violence and damaging public and private property during the protests. Orders have also been issued to imprison 19 rioters under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). According to Islamabad administration, 33 rioters have been identified.

Dozens of others were arrested from Karachi, Lahore and other cities.

The Supreme Court on October 31 ordered Bibi’s immediate release stating that blasphemy charges could not be proven against her. The judgement triggered countrywide protests by religious parties, bringing the country to a standstill for three days before the government reached a deal with the demonstrators on Friday.

According to the deal, the government will initiate legal proceedings to put Asia Bibi on the Exit Control List and will not object to a review appeal against the verdict, which was filed earlier in the Supreme Court.