Ashura: inner Peshawar sealed

PESHAWAR: The inner city has been sealed and all the trade centres were closed and over 11,000 personnel deployed as part of upgraded security for the last three days of Muharram, officials said on Saturday.

Over 30 main trade centres in the city, including Qissa Khwani, Kohati, Kabuli, Peepal Mandi, Kochi Bazaar, Meena Bazaar and Chitrali Bazaar have been sealed till tenth of Muharram.

Roads leading to the inner city have been blocked with barbed wires and blocks while traffic has been diverted to alternate routes.

Policemen deployed for the security of the Muharram events have been issued special cards and no one without the document would be allowed close to the procession routes.

“Three-layer security has been provided to the Muharram processions and majalis. The policemen deployed there have also been issued special cards,” Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan told reporters. He added that senior officers were monitoring the security of the inner city to ensure foolproof arrangements.

“The routes of the processions are being swept by the bomb disposal experts as well as sniffer dogs. Besides, the situation is being monitored through CCTV and drone cameras,” said the CCPO.

Police have beefed up security in Peshawar since the start of Muharram. And more cops have been deployed for security of 62 imambargahs and other worship places.

The crackdown on pillion-riding and cars with tinted glasses is also underway in the provincial capital after section 144 has been imposed.

The cops across KP have been directed to remain vigilant and wear bulletproof jackets and helmets while performing the duty in the wake of recent threats and some attacks on the policemen.

Around 55,000 personnel have been deployed across the KP for the security during Ashura.

Almost a dozen districts, including Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Kohat and Kurram have been declared sensitive and police have been directed to remain vigilant.

Meanwhile, the processions of the 7th Muharram passed off peacefully in the provincial capital and elsewhere in the province.

In the provincial capital, Senior Superintendent of Police, operations, Kashif Aftab Abbasi and SP City Atiq Shah visited the routes for the 7th Muharram procession and inspected the security arrangements.