Security tightened in, around Raiwind

Raiwind on high alert following arrival of 700,000 participants in Ijtema.

LAHORE: The security in and around Raiwind has been raised to high alert following the arrival of some 700,000 participants in the Ijtema that started on Thursday.

SP Faisal Rana said that more than 6,000 policeman had been deployed in the area including Traffic Police officials. He said that a large number of security personnel were deployed inside the congregation on special duties.

He said that police officials had also set up a number of check points on city exits to scan the vehicles, commuters and their luggage. Twenty-seven CCTV cameras have been installed at various points to keep a close eye on suspects to avoid any untoward incident.

Sadar SP Zeeshan Asghar told The Express Tribune that security had been beefed up around the Rawind area. He denied the rumour that there were instructions to bar the participants of the Ijtema from entering Lahore. However, he said the police will try to limit their entry on account of the security threats and traffic problems.

He said most participants normally did not enter the city, and left directly from the place of the congregation. Khwaja Riazul Haq, one of the organisers of the Ijtema said that apart from the police deployed outside the congregation, they had more than 1,000 volunteers assisting them in maintaining peace and discipline in and outside the congregation.

He said that the participants came from many places including Peshawar, Swat, FATA. He said that all the teams customarily came to the Ijtema under a supervisor known as the ameer. The Ijtema would conclude on Sunday, December 5.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2010.