As per official sources, it has been decided to deploy the army as a quick response force at the request of the provinces.

According to the notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of troops and the places of deployment will be decided by the provinces while decisions regarding the withdrawal of troops will be made through mutual consultation.

Army will be deployed in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) too. The army will be deployed under Article 245 of the Constitution.

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It is to be noted here that the Punjab government had called for the services of the Pakistan Army and the Punjab Rangers to assist the police in ensuring law and order during Muharram.

According to the Punjab Home Department spokesperson, 150 companies of the Pakistan Army and the Punjab Rangers will provide services across the province.

A notification has also been issued for deploying 69 companies of the Pakistan Army and 81 companies of the Punjab Rangers, whose services have been called for from the 1st to the 12th of Muharram.

The Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments have also imposed Section 144 in Karachi and Peshawar for a month to maintain law and order during Muharram. The aim of this initiative is to avoid any untoward incident during Muharram and to ensure public safety.

Recently, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 across the province in view of the security of Muharram.

Under this, public gatherings and any kind of movement have been banned to maintain law and order in the province.