Police in twin cities prepare for JUI-F’s ‘Azadi march’

Transporters threaten to go on strike against seizure of containers

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Interior has finalised duties of security personnel to deal with the sit-in of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) Azadi march to be staged in federal capital next week.

According to Islamabad police officials said as many as 21,500 security personnel will perform duties during the political activity.

Some 16,500 security personnel including Punjab police, FC and Rangers will reach the federal capital on Friday evening (today).

Contingents of police from Jhelum and Attock have already reached Rawalpindi police lines.

The government has decided against using educational institutions as accommodation for additional security force being summoned to Islamabad and has made alternative arrangements for their lodging.

In this regard, a senior police official of federal police told The Express Tribune that no schools would be shut down while none of them would be used as accommodation for additional security force.

He added that arrangements for lodging and food for additional force had been done in sports complex and different police stations including Ramna, Margalla, Karachi Company, police barracks in G-10 and Islamabad police lines. The official said that a private firm had been given the contract for provision of three meals daily to all security personnel.

Pindi police gears up

Meanwhile, the divisional SPs of garrison town police visited their related areas for inspection of arrangements made for Azadi march.

The senior officers, in particular, surveyed the areas being termed as ‘sealing points’, by the police and security agencies. The sealing points are the entry points to the capital from Attock and Taxila.

More than 6,000 police personnel have been summoned to Rawalpindi from other districts for maintenance of law and order situation.

The officials including SP Saddar Mazhar Rai, SP Potohar Division Syed Ali and ASP Cantt visited the entry and exit points of their respective jurisdictions and later visited police stations where they briefed police personnel on how they can cope with the protesters and took a briefing regarding anti-riot equipment.

While talking to the force summoned from different districts to Rawalpindi, SP Saddar said that maintaining law and order and upholding government’s writ should be the top priority of the police.

He directed them to ensure protection of public properties during the protesting march.

Similarly, SP Potohar Syed Ali visited sealing point in Taxila circle along with DSP Taxila and different SHOs. He inspected the entry points in precincts of three police stations in the circle that border with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

CPO meeting

City Police Officer (CPO) Faisal Rana chaired a meeting of police officials at Rawalpindi Police Lines. He directed the officials to implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by interior ministry for protection of lives and properties of people. Rana said that the law violators should be dealt according to law while the police was completely prepared. SSP Operation Tariq Wilayat and SSP Investigation Muhammad Faisal will oversee entire security arrangements in the city.

Blockade starts

The federal police have started placing containers of five-lane Faizabad interchange. Only two lanes have been left open for traffic which has created a bottleneck, resulting in difficulties for motorist.

Meanwhile, despite that the march is only a couple of days away, the banners in its favor are nowhere in Rawalpindi. A trader in Raja Bazaar erected a banner in favor of Azadi March however the administration took a swift action and removed it.

Police and special branch officials are doing round of markets, particularly printing presses to stop any activity in support of the march.

Goods movers’ warn of strike

Goods transporters have threatened to go on a countrywide strike against seizure of containers.

The Goods Carrier Association (GCA) President Muhammad Shakeel Qureshi, Vice-President GCA Tariq Niazi and other GCA high officials addressed a press conference at Rawalpindi Press Club on Thursday.

They said that the police have seized some 500 containers and loader trucks in different parts of the country for the blockade of Azadi march. GCA said that all seized containers were equipped with goods worth millions of rupees and added that the government should have at least allowed unloading the cargo first if it intended to block roads with the containers.

Many containers loaded with perishable goods like fruit and vegetable and some carrying medicines have also been seized by the authorities with no compensation for the transporter, the shipper or the consignee.

The GCA officials said that the seizure of containers and loaders started since October 18 owing to which various consignments had halted, posing a threat to jobs of thousands of daily-wage employees. They complained that it was a tradition on part of police that it impounded containers along with its registration papers on different religious and political situation and called for it to stop.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2019.