Taking matters lightly?: Security at airport not as tight as expected

KARACHI:

The government’s claims to provide foolproof security to former president Pervez Musharaf fell flat as many people were allowed into the airport unsearched on Sunday.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had recently announced that it had put together a special squad to assassinate Musharraf. Despite this, the 2,000 odd law enforcers at the airport appeared fairly relaxed.

The policemen deployed at the airport seemed to be uncertain about the security measures put in place. “The crowd turned out to be much smaller than expected,” admitted one policeman. He added that the police “couldn’t stop search each and every person because everyone seemed to be in such a hurry”.

Senior police officials felt that the situation had been a risky one. District East DIG Tahir Naveed told The Express Tribune that Musharraf had been told to not address the people because of the security threats. “We came fully prepared for the possibility that he could be attacked,” he said. “But he should be asked why he decided to address people in the first place and disregard the threats.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2013.