Jumatul-Wida, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramazan, and Al-Quds Day were observed in the provincial metropolis amid tight security arrangements. Heavy contingents of police were around all mosques, shrines, imambargahs, churches and other sensitive installations of the city to avert any 'possible' terrorist activity in the city.
Earlier this week, the Punjab police had decided to put the security on high alert till Eid-ul-Fitr. Police also conducted special combing operations with the help of Rangers to hunt down suspected elements. Several persons were checked and arrested during the operations and were shifted to unknown places for interrogation, officials said. Security measures were also taken at different checkpoints which created problems for the commuters.
Due to security arrangements, long queues of people were seen outside the popular holy places of the city, especially at the shrine of Data Sahib and Badshahi Mosque. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operation) Dr Haider Ashraf also paid visits to various places of the city to review security arrangements. He told media that over 8,000 police personnel were deployed in the city.
He said they had instructed Dolphin Force and Police Response Unit (PRU) to increase their patrolling to keep an eye on suspected persons. He said the snipers were also deployed on rooftops of various mosques. Officials said the city will be monitored through cameras of Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) till Eid. However, additional cops will be deployed to other places where cameras are yet to be installed, they added. Meanwhile, a large number of men and women belonging to Shia community took to the streets to mark Youm-ul-Quds which crated massive traffic jam on The Mall just before Iftari.