LAHORE: Police claimed on Sunday to have arrested a suspect involved in putting up a notice against a religious minority group outside his shop in Gulberg.

According to a news release, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Dr Haider Ashraf took notice of the pasting of a poster outside a shop in Hafeez Centre declaring Ahmadis “infidels” and banning their entry in the shop.

The DIG directed the Model Town Division Superintendent of Police (SP) Mustansar Feroze to arrest the suspect. The SP constituted a police team led by Gulberg Station House Officer (SHO) Yousuf Butt.

SHO Butt conducted a raid on the shop and arrested the suspect identified as Abid Hashmi and registered a case under sections 295-A of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and 16 of the MPO against him.

The DIG said the National Action Plan (NAP) would be implemented at all costs and strict action taken against violators. He said no one would be allowed to post any hate material against any religious group.

The issue was brought to the DIG’s attention by people concerned with the contents of the poster. Under the NAP, police officials were directed to take action against any reported instances of hate speech and crime.

On Wednesday night, a photograph of the notice pasted outside the Hafeez Centre shop had gone viral on social media.

Also read: Police take down offensive anti-minority poster in Lahore after outrage

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2015