ICT police finalise security for 9th Muharram

Total of 2,200 personnel to be deployed for security duty in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad Capital Territory police have finalised a stringent security plan for the traditional procession to be taken on from Sector G-6 Imambargah on the 9th of Muharram.

The main procession in Islamabad will emerge from the Imambargah in G-6/2 and the procession will start along its pre-approved route passing through Luqman Hakeem Road, G-6 Service Road, Saddar Road, Streets 33 and 40 in G-6/1, Municipal Road, Melody Chowk, Shuhada Chowk, Aabpara Police Station and Polyclinic before circling back through Luqman Hakeem Road and culminating at the Imambargah after 8 pm.

Under the security plan, a total of 2,200 police personnel will perform security duty.

Islamabad Police Inspector General Dr Akbar Nasir Khan said that all resources would be utilised to ensure the security of the procession on 9th Muharram. He said that the procession will be monitored with cameras as a central control room has been set up in Safe City Islamabad.

DIG Operations Sohail Zafar Chatha will supervise all security arrangements for Muharram. Foolproof security arrangements would be made for processions joining the main procession while all small and big streets and roads on the procession routes would be closed with barbed wire.

Traffic police will ensure that vehicles were parked away from Imambargahs. Alternative routes would be arranged to facilitate citizens and maintain the traffic flow.

Commandos and snipers will be deployed along with all necessary equipment on the roofs of all the buildings along the procession routes. A crew of the bomb disposal squad will be deployed in the front of the procession to clear routes through robots using modern technology.

Ladies police personnel will also be deployed for checking women who will join the procession.

Meanwhile, all security arrangements have been finalised in the Rawalpindi district for Ashura to be observed tomorrow. Over 6,000 cops would guard 64 mourning processions and 113 majalis in the district. The district administration and law enforcers have finalised all necessary arrangements to facilitate the mourners.

Six main processions of Zuljanah, Alam and Tazia would be taken out on Ashura from different areas of the city. All the processions would culminate at 10:00 pm at Imambargah Qadimi. Clerics and religious scholars would highlight the teachings of Imam Hussain (RA) and various aspects of the tragedy.

According to City Police Officer (CPO), Syed Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari said that three-layer security cover would be provided particularly to the main Muharram processions with special arrangements ensuring rooftop duty and deployment of Quick Response Force (QRF).

He said that over 2,500 security personnel would be deployed to guard the main procession while 3,500 cops would provide security cover to other processions and majalis of the district. According to a police spokesman, no person would be allowed to carry the weapon in Muharram processions except for police officers.

Police would not allow anybody to organise a new Muharram procession and strict action would be taken against the violators, he added. A special 24/7 control room had also been set up, he said. He said that strict monitoring of Ashura processions would be conducted as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras had been installed at routes of main Zuljinnah processions and places where majalis would be held. He said special contingents of commandos and police officials would also be deployed on trouble points.

According to the security plan formulated in this regard, aerial surveillance of ‘Ashura’ processions would also be conducted to ensure the security of the mourners. An additional force of Special Branch, Elite Force, Punjab constabulary, women police along with district police would be deployed to ensure security on the 10th of Muharram.

Special checking of the routes would be carried out before the start of the processions and the bomb disposal squad would clear the routes. The mourners would be checked with metal detectors and walk-through gates would be installed at the entry points of the processions.

The route of the main procession of ‘Ashura’ would be sealed completely and streets on the route would be barricaded. Vehicles and motorcycles would not be allowed to move with the mourning processions. The spokesman said that 2,000 volunteers will also perform security duties along with district police.

Senior police officers were visiting all the routes of the Muharram processions to review the security arrangements, he added.

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Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2022.