6,000 personnel to perform Muharram duty

Rawalpindi : Rawalpindi District Police, on the directives of City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi DIG, Muhammad Ahsan Younis have finalised fool-proof security arrangements for Muharram-ul-Haram while 6000 security personnel will be deployed to ensure law and order during the holy month.

According to a police spokesman, all available resources would be utilized to ensure fool-proof security.

He informed that the district administration had imposed ban on entry of 37 fiery ulema and zakarians in Rawalpindi district.

He informed that total 1,766 Majalis would be organized in the district during 1st to 10th of Muharram-ul-Haram while 316 Muharram processions including 270 traditional and 46 licensed would be taken out.

He said, total 447 processions would be taken out in Muharram while 1,925 Majalis including 385 female Majalis would be organized in the district.

Law and order would be maintained at all cost and a peaceful atmosphere would be provided to the public during holy month of Muharram, he added.

Under the security plan, security personnel of Special Branch Police, Elite Force, Frontier Constabulary, Lady Police would be deployed to ensure security during Muharram, he added.

Leaves of all police personnel had been cancelled while a special 24/7 control room had also been set up in his office, the spokesman said.

Police would make concerted efforts with the help of other departments aimed at maintaining law and order and to avert any untoward incident in the district.

He said strict monitoring of the processions would be conducted as Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras would also be installed along routes of main Zuljinnah processions and places where Majalis would be held.

The mourners would only be allowed to join the processions from different entry points and Quick Response Force would also be deployed for the protection of the mourners, he told.

He said special contingents of commandos and police officials would also be deployed on 134 sensitive points.

Walk-through gates would be installed for main mourning procession, he said adding that the police officials would use metal detectors along with the private guards of the Imambargahs and mourning procession managements.

Strict checking of vehicles would also be made at entry and exist points of the city, he added.

Parking of vehicles and motorcycles would be banned along the routes of the mourning procession while all traffic proceeding towards these routes would be diverted.

He said, peace committees comprising ulema (Religious Scholars) of various sects had been formed while the district administration had banned the entry of 37 ulema belonging to different sects in the district and issued gagging orders for 13 other scholars with a view to maintain peace and inter-faith harmony during the holy month.

Total 317 processions including 40 of the category A, 64 of category B and 212 of C category would be organized.

Similarly, 208 Majalis of A category, 347 of B category and 1206 of C category would be included in total 1,761 Majalis of the district to be organized from 1st to 10th Muharram, he informed.

He said during this year, so far police conducted 271 operations, in which 21,818 houses and 701 hotels were searched while 62,389 persons were interrogated besides registration of 113 FIRs.

As many as 143 accused were sent behind the bars, he added.

He said all the stakeholders had been taken on-board regarding security arrangements and special meetings were also organized to finalize measures to ensure law and order.

Surety bonds were being obtained from the managements of mourning processions and Majalis that they would abide by the code of conduct issued by the Home Department Punjab.

He told that divisional SPs, SDPOs and SHOs would organize regular briefings for all the officers and security personnel concerned in their respective areas.