Red Zone to be sealed if needed, say police

“As of now, we have not blocked access to the Red Zone,” says SHO Secretariat Police Station.

ISLAMABAD:

The capital’s administration said they would beef up security at the “Red Zone” in anticipation of any potential backlash from the Ashura clashes in Rawalpindi, if need be.

But police and the Islamabad Capital Territory administration officials on Sunday evening said they had not moved yet to block access to the city’s Red Zone, which houses important government buildings and embassies.

Cargo containers are usually used by the Islamabad Police to cordon off the Red Zone in order to prevent protest demonstrations to move close to sensitive installations.

Assistant Commissioner City Muhammad Ali said the administration is prepared to seal the Red Zone from outside access, but only if it was required.

Station House Officer of the Secretariat Police Station, Abdur Rehman, said the police had not placed containers to block access to the area so far.

“As of now, we have not blocked access to the Red Zone,” Rehman said.

Earlier, there were some reports that clerics and seminary students from Lal Masjid might stage a demonstration to protest Friday’s incident in Rawalpindi in which a clash between two groups at a Muharram procession led to the deaths of at least nine people.

That clash also resulted in the imposition of a curfew in Rawalpindi on Saturday, which was later extended to Sunday. Entry and exit points to Rawalpindi were also sealed off after the clashes. The Islamabad Police had stationed two cargo containers on the outgoing lanes of Islamabad Expressway near Faizabad in case the road needed to be sealed. A cargo container was also seen parked on Ataturk Avenue.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2013.