Punjab proposes death penalty for drug peddlers, smugglers
Chandigarh, July 2: With the opposition mounting pressure on the Congress government to take action against rampant drugs abuse in the state, the Punjab cabinet on Monday decided to recommend death penalty for drug peddlers and smugglers to the Central government.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who chaired the special meeting of the cabinet on Monday to discuss the drugs issue, directed Director General of Police Suresh Arora to intensify the police crackdown on the drug menace.
The decision to recommend death penalty for drug peddlers and smugglers was taken at the cabinet meeting, and it was resolved to send a formal recommendation soon to the Union Government to this effect, an official spokesperson said here.
"The cabinet also decided to constitute a special working group under the Additional Chief Secretary, Home, N.S. Kalsi to review and monitor, on a day-to-day basis, the action being taken to check and control drug abuse," the spokesperson said.
The cabinet took stock of the cases of deaths resulting from drug overdose, which Special Task Force (STF) chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu admitted to be a matter of concern.
Citing data relating to arrests and seizures under the NDPS Act, the DGP pointed out that there had been a sharp increase in the figures since the present government took over.
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‘Take all the cameras and leave’: Israel raids Al Jazeera office in West Bank
Ramallah: The Israel Army raided the offices of Al Jazeera in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday and ordered the bureau to shut down.
Heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers forcefully entered the building where Al Jazeera’s bureau is and handed the 45-day closure order to the network’s West Bank bureau chief Walid al-Omari, reported Al Jazeera. However, they did not give a reason for the decision.
Israeli soldiers reportedly began to confiscate documents and equipments in the office while tear gas and gunshots were heard in the premises. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim remarked that the raid and closure order “comes as no surprise,” adding that the Israeli officials have been threatening to close down the bureau.
“There is a court ruling for closing Al Jazeera for 45 days. I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office at this moment,” an Israeli soldier was reportedly heard as saying in a live footage broadcasted by the channel.
In response to the incident, al-Omari stated that such actions against journalists are aimed at “erasing the truth and preventing people from hearing the truth.”
The Government Media Office in Gaza has called on media organisations and human rights groups worldwide to condemn this action, labelling it a “deafening scandal” and a blatant violation of press and media freedom.
The raid comes months after Israel banned Al Jazeera from operating inside the country in May, alleging that it threatened national security.
