Foolproof measures: 9,000 policemen securing cricket series underway in city

2,000 personnel on standby to deal with any untoward incident

LAHORE: While the nation is ecstatic over the revival of international cricket in the city, Lahoris had to put up with unprecedented traffic congestion, paucity of civic facilities and vexing security measures over the week as police remained occupied with guaranteeing the security of the Zimbabwe cricket team. 

According to a handout issued by the Central Police Office, 9,000 policemen have been tasked with securing scheduled cricket matches under the final security plan. Another 2,000 policemen will remain on standby to handle any untoward situation. CCPO Amin Wains and Operations DIG Haider Ashraf will be using three helicopters to conduct aerial surveillance of security arrangements and monitor developments. The officials will remain in contact with officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Zimbabwe cricket team.

Operations SSP Muhammad Baqir Raza and Crime Investigation Agency Umer Virk have been tasked with conducting searches in various areas.

The searches will continue till the departure of the Zimbabwe cricket team. Officials said 140 searches had been conducted across six divisions of Lahore hitherto. They said 107 hotels, 20 rest houses, 763 shops and 3,100 residences had been inspected in the searches. Officials said identities of 902 tenants had been ascertained under the exercise.

They said similar initiatives had been taken at public places including railway and bus stations across the city. Officials said 9,050 people had been questioned during searches at public places. They said a suspect had been nabbed on Saturday in the vicinity of Gaddafi Stadium. Officials said police had seized a pistol from the man when he was frisked. Police said the suspect had been detained.

DIG Ashraf told The Express Tribune that 6,000 policemen had been deployed at Gaddafi Stadium alone. He said the rest had been tasked with securing different routes and roads. DIG Ashraf said those deployed at Gaddafi Stadium had been instructed to discharge their routine duties following the conclusion of a cricket match. He said special teams comprising police and intelligence personnel had been constituted to secure the entire city. Ashraf said the teams had been conducting daily searches. He said anti-state elements would not get the opportunity to compromise order due to agility of the teams.



On the other hand, three SPs, 1,300 traffic wardens and 497 women traffic wardens will work under CTO Tayyab Hafeez Cheema to ensure smooth flow of traffic during the tournament. Traffic jams were witnessed across various areas in the city following the deployment of at least 1,400 traffic personnel at Gaddafi Stadium.

Foolproof security arrangements have also been made in the vicinity of the hotel where the Zimbabwe cricket team has been put up. The section of the Mall in front of the establishment has been closed for traffic and search lights have been installed at greenbelts in the area for the benefit of policemen deployed there at night.

VVIP movement

The Raiwind and Canal Road, the Khayaban-i-Jinnah and the Khayaban-i-Ferdowsi remained closed for traffic on Saturday due to the movement of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s entourage in the city. The routes remained closed for traffic despite the fact that Sharif commuted by helicopter.

VVIP Security SP Muhammad Baqir told The Express Tribune that roads were always closed for traffic on the directive of the chief security officer to the prime minister. “Irrespective of whether he travels by road or not we have to devise a route for the prime minister as a contingency plan. This is a standard operating procedure,” he said. Major traffic jams were witnessed at various spots after the Mall had been closed and traffic was diverted to alternative routes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2015.