Diamer-bound pilgrims escorted amid tight security

RAWALPINDI: There was high alert in the Rawalpindi division as police mobiles, ambulances and repair truck escorted a convoy of eight busses carrying Iran-retuned pilgrims released from quarantine at Taftan border.

The whole administration of the division was in panic-mode to rush families comprising 35 women and 200 men out of its jurisdiction for onward journey to their hometown in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The pilgrims were rightfully complaining of the strict security measures. The Balochistan police had handed over the convoy to Dera Ghazi Khan police on Sunday morning.

The DG Khan police without allowing any stopover escorted the busses out of their jurisdiction and handed over the responsibility to Faisalabad divisions police.

Faisalabad police too ordered non-stop exit of people suspected of coronavirus out of their jurisdiction. Although bags of meals and mineral water bottles were provided on the buses, no one was allowed to get down.

By Sunday night these buses entered Rawalpindi division and the escort was changed. However, owing to strong protest by the passengers, police allowed the exasperated travellers to get down at Kalar Kahar point on the motorway on Monday noon.

The pilgrims were allowed to get off. All of them were served meals and water bottles and further allowed to use a small hotel and a mosque for changing clothes or using the restrooms. Following this, all the passengers were put on their respective buses again and they were given packed-food and water bottles for the remaining journey and escorted out of the division and the province.

Meanwhile, police and health officials burnt down benches, chairs of the hotel where the passengers sat down to eat, the towels they had used and mats of the mosque where they had offered prayers as a preventive measure.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2020.