Ashura procession held amid strict security

LEAs monitor mourners’ route on 330 CCTV cameras

KARACHI:

The central mourning procession of 9th Muharram headed from Nishtar Park and passing through its traditional routes culminated peacefully at Hussainian Iranian Imambargah on Wednesday.

Strict security arrangements were in place along the procession route.

Apart from a ban on pillion riding in the metropolis, cellular services were also temporarily suspended in the vicinity of Nishtar Park and along selected routes of the procession.

As many as 331 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras monitored the central procession as it marched through its traditional route.

According to the staff at the command and control rooms set up at the Central Police Office and at Civic Centre, there are over 2,200 CCTV cameras installed at various points in the city. Of these, 331 CCTV cameras were used solely to carry out 24-hour surveillance of the central procession’s routes and areas in its vicinity.

Officials said that state-of-art cameras equipped with facial recognition features were installed at Nishtar Park and other entry points of the procession.

The facial recognition feature was also updated with the pictures from the police’s criminal records and programmed to alert the law enforcement agencies if any such face appeared before the cameras.

Staffers have been working in three shifts in the control rooms to ensure round-the-clock surveillance. Given the disruption of cellular services, they relied on wireless headsets to coordinate with police officers and law enforcement personnel deputed along the procession route.

The central procession, which was joined by several smaller processions, headed from Nishtar Park at around 1 pm in the afternoon.

At the Majlis held before the procession was taken out, Shia scholar Maulana Shehensha Naqvi highlighted the sufferings and sacrifices of the Ahl Al-Bayt and paid tribute to the martyrs of Karbala.

Read Over 200 mourning processions to be taken out today

The congregation offered afternoon prayers, led by Maulana Muhammad Haider Naqvi, at Imambargah Ali Raza.

A protest and a symbolic sit-in was also held for the recovery of missing persons.

Leaving from Nishtar Park, the procession passed through its traditional route including MA Jinnah Road, Mansfield Street, Preedy Street, Bolton Market, Bombay Bazar, and Kharadar before culminating at the Hussainian Iranian Imambargah at 6.20 pm.

Roads and streets along the procession route were blocked using containers, water tankers, and other barricades. The traffic police had issued an alternate plan for commuters earlier this week.

Around 5,047 officers and officials were deployed on the routes of the central procession of Muharram 9.

These included at least 80 senior police officers, 822 sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, 4,222 head constables and constables, 123 policewomen, 65 personnel of the special branch, 190 commandoes of the special security unit (SSU), and 200 personnel of the rapid response force, according to a police spokesperson.

SSU snipers were also deployed on tall buildings and markets along the routes of the procession.

Moreover, over 1,000 traffic police officials and personnel were on the roads to ensure the flow of traffic and facilitate commuters through alternate routes.

The traffic DIG also visited inspected the procession routes and was in coordination with traffic SSPs and SPs to monitor traffic arrangements.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2021.