Relieved: Chehlum processions pass peacefully

Strict security measures bore fruit: city admin.

RAWALPINDI:

Silencing the cell phones and banning pillion riding bore fruit as the chehlum processions passed peacefully in the garrison city on Thursday. 

The decision of the district administration and city police to impose section 144 paid dividends as the mourners completed their procession without any untoward incident in the city, said an official. There were six processions in the city and the surrounding areas with the main one passing through the roads and lanes of Raja Bazaar concluding at Colonel Maqbool Imambargha.

Thousands of participants took part in the main procession remembering the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain and used chains and knives to perform zanjeer zani.

A visit to the areas around Raja Bazaar reveled that the main streets leading to the routes of the procession were closed with barbed wires and manned by armed policemen.

Other security measures taken by the law enforcers included installation of walk through gates and body search with metal detectors of the participants. Besides, teams of volunteers also assisted the police in managing security.

Further, a helicopter provided air surveillance to the procession in the thickly populated areas of the city throughout the day.

The security measures taken did cause problems for the locals, but we are relieved that the processions passed peacefully. There were fears of a repeat of November 21, 2011 suicide attack at Dhoke Syedan procession, Ali Niaz, a resident of the area.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zaffar said section 144 was imposed in the city to enable the police to disallow gatherings other than the processions. Mobile phones were kept silent to disable any attempt of terrorism in the city, he added.

Separately, volunteers of the procession apprehended three men over suspicious activities near Taili Mohallah and handed over them to police.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2013.