Police will maintain their presence both at the processions and the majalis during Muharram
Security has been beefed up in the federal capital with as many as 15,000 personnel will be deployed during Muharam for processions and majalis, according to Deputy Inspector General of Police (operations) Waqaruddin Syed. The personnel will be from Islamabad police, Pakistan Rangers and Frontier Constabulary (FC). According to a press release issued by the DIG, the security plan has been finalized along with the SOPs to avoid the spread of the novel corona virus.
Police will be in liaison with the procession administrations and the volunteers. It will be ensured that the law enforcers are present at all processions and Imam Bargah’s during the majalis. The processions will go through specified routes for security purposes. Wall chalking will not be allowed as well. The citizens have been urged to help the law enforcement agencies during this period.
Traffic plans for Aug. 26 processions has been made available by the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP). The first procession will be taken out from I-9/1 at 9pm that will culminate at Imambargah Jafferia I-9. The second procession will be taken out from the residence of Zulfiqar Shah at 9pm and would culminate at Imambargah Qasar-i-Sakina Shakrial Highway in Khanna police area. Partial traffic disruption will take place in some areas during these processions.
Muharam processions are high risk events with a huge number of present in a small location. Few years back, these processions were also targeted by terrorists, prompting even more security. While the safety and security situation over the years has greatly improved in Pakistan, maintaining a high level of security for such events still remains critical.