Police gear up for Christmas, Quaid’s birthday

RPOs, CPOs, DPOs to supervise security in their jurisdictions

LAHORE:

Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Faisal Shahkar ordered foolproof security for Christmas and Youm-e-Quaid celebrations across the province. He directed Additional IG South Punjab, CCPO Lahore and all RPOs, CPOs and DPOs to ensure strict security measures in all districts.

A Punjab Police spokesperson said that as per the directions of IG Punjab, special arrangements will be made for Christmas celebrations in all major cities in the province, including Lahore, while optimal security arrangements will simultaneously be provided at the public and private level on the birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The spokesperson added that level three/four security will be provided to Christian places of worship and public places in all districts of the province.

Walk-through gates and scanners will be installed in sensitive churches and metal detectors will be used for comprehensive searching.

For the convenience of female citizens, lady police officials will be deployed at Christian places of worship and in the park. Additionally, the security of Christmas markets will also be taken into consideration.

Moreover, the spokesperson said that personnel will be deployed to secure recreational areas such as park and picnic points, so that members of the Christian community can celebrate their religious festivity in a peaceful environment. Along with the searching of vehicles outside churches, arrangements will be made for parking at a safe distance. Spokesperson Punjab Police added that according to the SOPs for the security of foreign offices and citizens, all resources will be used for ensuring foolproof security at the working sites and residences of foreign nationals.

The spokesperson further said that the suggestions of institutions such as the District Peace and Interfaith Harmony Committees will be taken into consideration in the security plan. Dolphin and PRU teams will continue patrolling the area around Christian places of worship, while Quick response and elite police teams will be deployed at sensitive locations for emergency action. Joint control rooms are being activated.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2022.