As many as 909 religious gatherings and 177 processions will be taken out on the occasion of 9th Muharram-ul-Haram (today) amid tight security arrangements. A senior official of police said that as per security plan, over 12,000 security personnel, including 1,500 personnel of Rangers and 500 personnel of Frontier Constabulary, will be deployed across the city for maintaining high vigilance on the occasion.
Out of 12,000 personnel, over 3,500 will be deployed at the main procession on Muharram 9, which will be taken out from Markazi Imambargah, located in Sector G-6/2 of the federal capital, and will culminate at the same venue after passing through its traditional routes. He said that the routes of main procession of Ashura will be sealed completely through razor wires. Streets leading to the main processions will also be barricaded by putting concrete blocks.
A senior official of police said that as per security plan, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, scanners and walkthrough gates will be installed at various routes of processions. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) would also conduct aerial surveillance of gatherings and processions, he added. Under the security plan, the police would conduct checking of participants of gatherings and processions thorough using metal detectors.
The district administration has imposed Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the limits of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) as part of security arrangements. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sajid Kiani said that five-layer security arrangements will be made at the main procession which will cover three to four kilometers radius around the procession. About suspension of mobile service, he said that suspension of cellular service not only creates problems for citizens but also for the police; therefore, they have decided that cellular service will not be suspended like last year.
Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) made a special traffic plan to avoid inconvenience to the road users. Special deployment of police personnel will be made for smooth flow of traffic at alternate routes when processions will be carried out. In this regard, the ITP would deploy a total of 520 personnel, including three DSPs and 21 inspectors, to regulate traffic around the procession routes. According to the traffic plan, Fazal-e-Haq Road will be closed till China Chowk, Post Office Service Road, Saddar Road Iqbal Hall to Melody Chowk, Municipal Road Lal Masjid to Shuhada Chowk, GPO, and Luqman Hakim Road will be closed for traffic from 8:00am to 8:00 pm.