A meeting held with Chief Secretary, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ghulam Dastagir besides talking other stringent and foolproof measures for maintenance of peace and order in Hazara Division during the month of Muharram has also decided the invoking of the Anti-Terrorism Act to ensure sectarian harmony in the region.
The meeting was held in Commissioner House Abbottabad and those who attended included Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs, Mohammad Azam Khan, Inspector General Police, Mohammad Akbar Hoti, Commissioner Hazara Division, Mohammad Khalid Khan Umerzai, Deputy Inspector General Police Hazara, Dr. Naeem Khan, and Co-ordination Officers and Police Officers of Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan and Torghar districts.
The meeting also decided taking further efforts to curb likelihood of any troublesome contingency and prevent any act of terrorism or intra-religion hatred.
The meeting decided the provision of uninterrupted power supply to the mourning programmes and vowed not to accept any excuse from Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO) in this regard. Declaring districts Haripur, Mansehra and Abbottabad as most sensitive with regard to law and order the Commissioner Hazara and the DIG Hazara apprised the provincial high-ups of the contingency plans chalked out by each district as well as security measures taken and facilities arranged for the Muharram processions and mourning congregations and general public as well.
The commissioner told that under a comprehensive and pre-planned strategy district level peace committees and inter-sect committees comprising Ulema, traders, social workers, elders and district administration were formed and all Muharram programmes and facilities have been finalised in consultation with them.
A joint grand meeting of these district committees and traders' organisations was held at divisional level wherein the traders' representatives and religious leaders hailing from all sects expressed their resolve for mutual respect, tolerance and harmony and assured their full co-operation to hold the Ashra e Muharram in a peaceful manner observing the religious spirit of the event, he added.
Umerzai said that a high level joint co-ordination meeting of the civil and military intelligence and district and police administrations was also held which reviewed the security measures in detail and taken significant decisions to combat any movement for creating any law-and-order situation.
The Commissioner told that under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code wall chalking, pillion riding, misuse of loudspeakers, holding of unlicensed processions and majalis, provoking speeches, entry of provocative speakers from other districts, movement of Afghan refugees, carrying and displaying of arms and ammunition, aerial firing, and distribution of objectionable literature have been banned for the whole month of Muharram.
He said that strict security surveillance of all Muharram programmes including scanning of the processions' routes and venues of Majalis will be carried out and all necessary facilities including drinking water, cleanliness, fire brigade, power supply and full medical cover will be provided to their participants while police force will also be deployed at all the mosques which fall on the processions' routes. He said that in order to implement these arrangements all the civil hospitals have been put on alert and leaves and public holiday of all concerned officers and allied staff of essential departments have been cancelled till 10th of Muharram.
Addressing the participants of the meeting Chief Secretary expressed his satisfaction over Muharram arrangements in Hazara Division particularly in the sensitive districts and said that the provincial Government would seriously consider the proposals presented during the meeting with regard to general law and order. Emphasising the need for formation of peace committees at village level as well, he believed that such a community organisation would help create an environment of mutual trust and co-operation for maintaining peace and order to ensure uninterrupted availability of the power supply during Muharram throughout the province, particularly in the evening time.