LARKANA: Complete normalcy has returned here to Larkana town. An official spokesman said ... that no untoward incident occurred after lifting of curfew in the town. He said rumours regarding exodus of some Urdu-speaking residents were belied by the ticket sale figures collected from railway booking offices. … The spokesman assured that the district administration had taken all measures to protect life, honour and property of all the people. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by a staff correspondent from Lahore,] The Punjab Governor, Mr Ghulam Mustafa Khar, today [July 20] sternly warned the Opposition leaders in the province not to try to create chaotic conditions or else they would be severely dealt with. He made it clear that it was not an empty threat — the People’s Party had behind it a well-knit political organisation and an effective administration, ready to meet any situation. So far, the Government had shown patience, but that did not mean that it lacked resources and will to cope with the problem.

… Asserting that the Opposition’s threat to launch a movement was meaningless since these ... elements would be the last force to do it, he said that such threats could not browbeat the People’s Party, which had successfully launched movements... . His Government knew how to handle a situation, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2022