On alert: Sindh prepares for Ashura with more than 5,000 policemen

Rangers, commandos will be on duty while an army unit will be present for backup

SUKKUR:

The security measures taken by the district police this Ashura, have set the Shia community’s mind at ease.

Upper Sindh

On Monday, the mourning procession in Rohri started from Mehfil Shah-e-Khurasan early in the morning and after a two hour stopover at Mando Khabar Jo Pirr in the Shahi Bazaar, the mourners headed towards Dargah Haidar Shah Haqqani near Karbala Chowk.

Strict security arrangements have been made for the Muharram 10 procession in Sukkur. Cell phone networks will be suspended in the twin cities of Sukkur and Rohri.

In Khairpur, the Muharram 8 procession was carried out peacefully through its traditional route. The Shia Ulema appreciated the efforts made by Khairpur City ASP Masood Bangash. The area is considered to be sensitive as several lives were lost in sectarian violence on Ashura some years ago. The security arrangements this year were finalised after meetings with leaders from the Shia and Sunni sects.

Ashura, in Sukkur, has always been observed peacefully but this year the police have taken extra measures to avoid untoward incidents. More than 3,500 policemen, commandos, Rangers and policewomen will be on duty on Muharram 10 (today). CCTV cameras, walk-through gates and barriers have also been installed at all entry and exit points of the procession to ensure safety. In Sukkur, the main procession will start from the imam bargah on Waritar Road and will pass through Shikarpur Road, Barrage Road, Clock Tower, Minara Road, GPO Chowk, Gymkhana Road, Ayub Gate, Station Road and Gharibabad. It will terminate at the imam bargah on Waritar Road where the Sham-e-Ghariban will be held. Special passes have been issued to ambulances, the media and scouts to avoid any trouble and confusion.

Strict security measures have also been taken in Shikarpur to ensure a peaceful Ashura. A heavy contingent of policemen, more than a hundred Rangers, commandos and female police constables will be on duty while unit of the Pakistan Army will be present for backup. Special security arrangements were made at the Napierabad village near Shikarpur, which is the hometown of MNA Dr Ibrahim Jatoi. In 2011, the village was targeted in a suicide attack during a majlis in the village. Three policemen were killed while many more were injured in the blast.

Lower Sindh

Around 400 mourning processions will be held in Hyderabad in addition to 77 majalis on Youm-e-Ashura on Tuesday. The main procession, organised by the Anjuman-e-Imam Hyderi, will start at Karbala Dadan Shah in the morning. It will culminate at Qadam Gah Moula Ali around 5pm.

All the roads along this one-kilometre route have been sealed with barbed wires. There is only one entry point at Dadan Shah and one exit point at Qadam Gah. More than 1,900 policemen and 400 Rangers will be on duty on Muharram 10. A majority of them will be deployed along the route of the main procession.

Ambulances, fire tenders and water tankers have been asked to arrive before 8am to enter the procession route.

According to DIG Hyderabad Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, they have received a Hyderabad-specific terror alert for Muharram 9 and 10. The district police claim that more than 50 CCTV cameras have been installed in the district, most of them along the main procession’s route.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2014.