Hangu, Bannu to remain under curfew today

HANGU/ BANNU:

The district administrations of Bannu and Hangu have imposed curfew and suspended cellular services in the districts from Thursday morning till Friday evening due to security concerns.

According to Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Iqbal, the curfew would remain imposed in Bannu city from 5am on Thursday till Friday 5pm. However, processions and gatherings of mourners would not be prohibited.

The DPO said the curfew had been imposed to prevent any untoward incident in the city. He added all routes expected to be taken by a procession from Hussainia Mandan Gate imambargah have been sealed and several contingents of police, Frontier Constabulary and security forces have been deployed to ensure their security. DPO Iqbal appealed to the residents of Bannu to cooperate with security officials.

Meanwhile, curfew was also imposed in Hangu, one of the most sensitive districts of the province in terms of sectarian violence. Security officials remained on high alert throughout the day in the district.

The curfew in Hangu city will also remain in place from Thursday morning to Friday evening. The district government has already imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code and banned pillion riding, wall chalking, hate speech and display of weapons.

Police along with paramilitary troops have been deployed along main routes of the processions, while security forces will also remain on guard.

Cellular networks would remain suspended in both the districts for security purposes.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2013.