Youm-i-Ali security: Home Dept bans pillion riding province-wide

Mobile phone service to be suspended along some procession routes

LAHORE: The Home Department has banned pillion riding in all the 36 districts of the province on Youm-i-Ali (RA) on July 9.

A letter has been written in this regard to all district coordination officers (DCOs). The officers have also been directed to establish control rooms to monitor security. The letter states that cellular phone services might be suspended along the routes of main processions in sensitive districts.

On Tuesday, a high-level meeting was held the Central Police Office to review security arrangements for Youm-i-Ali (RA). All RPOs and DPOs took part in the meeting through video link. IGP Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera presided over the meeting.

The meeting decided to provide three-layered security to 181 processions and 863 majalis that will be held in the province on Youm-i-Ali (RA).

The meeting was informed that 38,356 policemen, 747 private volunteers and members of 887 peace committees will perform security duties on the day. The meeting decided that all policemen on duty will display their identity cards.

A similar security plan will be followed for Al-Quds Day rallies.

The processions and majalis will be monitored through 382 CCTV cameras, 2,805 metal detectors and 122 walk-through gates.

The meeting also decided to enhance security and surveillance of mosques during the last 10 days of Ramazan.

The overall law and order situation was also reviewed at the conference. The officials were informed that a decline had been witnessed in murders and bank robberies.

Sukhera directed the officers to inspect police stations twice a month. He directed the DPOs to arrest all proclaimed offenders. Sukhera urged the officers to discourage fake FIRs.

He said that the funds in the police welfare account must be used for the benefit of the policemen.

The meeting also reviewed security for Chinese citizens working on various projects.

The IGP was informed that the Lahore police had been handed over 108 vehicles to improve patrolling.

Operations Additional IG Capt (r) Arif Nawaz, Special Branch Additional IG Dr Arif Mushtaq, Lahore CCPO Capt (retd) Muhammad Amin Wains and Punjab Constabulary Commandant Hussain Asghar also attended the conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2015.