Hazara shuts doors on tourists

100 check posts set up at entry, exit points in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur

ABBOTABAD:

The Covid-19 virus is wreaking havoc throughout the length and breadth of the country and authorities are at their wit's end as to how to enforce the lockdown effectively and ensure that people adopt proper guidelines to implement SOPs.

It is a hard reality but the fact of the matter that people are not taking SOPs and violating lockdown guidelines. To this end, Hazara police have chalked out an elaborate security plan to restrict people from breaching lockdown and Coronavirus SOPs during the holidays of Eidul-Fitr and deputed 6,000 policemen in eight districts of the region.

Following the directives of the provincial government and National Command Operation Center (NCOC) guidelines, Hazara Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mirvais Niaz has deputed 6,000 personnel to enforce the security and lockdown programme.

Police squads, including Canine Unit and Bomb Disposal Squad, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Special Branch, would ensure the security of mosques, important buildings, CPEC, construction projects and others while the force would strictly enforce Coronavirus SOPs, lockdown.

They would see to it that SOPs are not violated and entry of tourists from all over the country in the Hazara region is stopped.

The plan devised following the directions from DIG Hazara, 6,000 policemen including operational staff, traffic wardens, Elite Force and ladies force would be deployed while 100 check posts have been established on all entry and exit points of Abbottabad, Mansehra, and Haripur.

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Special deployment was also made at the mosques where Eidul-Fitr prayers would be offered, CPEC security, construction projects in the region, jails and other important places of the division.

Tourist spots are completely banned where hotels and guesthouses are closed for all sorts of recreational activities, nobody would be allowed to enter these areas.

Besides security measures, during the Eid-ul-Fitr traffic police have also chalked out traffic plane to assure the smooth flow of traffic on the main Karakoram Highway (KKH) and Murree road where at all previous occasion traffic was jammed for hours and hours.

Separately, more than 3,300 police personnel will perform duties on Eid-ul-Fitr as the Rawalpindi police act upon a security plan in liaison with other law enforcement agencies to maintain law and order on Chand Raat and on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.

More than 3,300 police personnel including officers will ensure the security of mosques, imambargahs and Eidgahs. The personnel of elite force, equestrian police, dolphin force, muhafiz squad and policewomen will perform duties in this respect.

A Rawalpindi police spokesperson said 2,500 police personnel would perform security duties on the occasion while more than 400 personnel will assist the one-wheeling squad. In addition, 400 personnel will serve duties to ensure the closure of recreational spots which have been closed by the government after a spike in coronavirus cases.

A Rawalpindi police spokesperson urged the masses to inform the police immediately if they witness any suspicious activity.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2021.