PESHAWAR: Security plan for Peshawar match unveiled
By Our Correspondent
PESHAWAR, March 17: The NWFP Police Chief Riffat Pasha unveiled the city's security plan for the much-awaited one day international match between India and Pakistan at a news conference at the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.
Flanked by Chief Capital City Police Tanvirul Haq Sipra and SSP Dr Ishtiaq Marwat, Mr Pasha, said that additional police force would be called from Mardan, Kohat and Malakand regions to ensure tight security arrangements for the Indians visiting Pakistan after a period of 15 years.
Unveiling the security plan the police chief said that about 3,000 security personnel would be deployed in and around the stadium and the entry of irrelevant people would be strictly banned.
"Peshawar is a much safer city, but still we cannot afford to take chances and extra efforts would be made to pre-empt the occurrence of any untoward incident by the anti-state elements in this high-profile contest," Mr Pasha said.
He said that only the police would manage the affairs and there would be no involvement of other law enforcing agencies, whatsoever, when asked who would be involved in security.
"There is no sectarian problem. Normal crimes are taking place, like other cities of the world," he said, adding that "our main focus will be to control the excitement of the spectators in the breath-taking match.
Mr Pasha made it clear that nobody would permitted to meet the players and other officials inside the hotels, unless they had prior appointments. He said that ambulances would be provided at the stadium to cope with any emergency. However, he said that routine patrolling in the city would remain as usual, because the criminals could exploit the situation to their advantage if we concentrated the police only on the stadium.
"There would be three security cordons. First, the people would be searched at the main gates, then on stadium gates which would be followed by complete body search inside the stadium," he said. According to him, the Pakistan Cricket Board had been requested to provide at least 10 scanning machines to ensure the process of physical search of about 14,000 spectators in the shortest possible time.
Apart from the stadium, police will be deployed at the hotels, he said and added that they had no information as to how many Indian guests are coming to watch the match. However, he said that the Indian security personnel weren't coming here. He conceded that sometimes the police took measures that caused trouble to the people, but said that "it was important for security."
"Our main objective is to avoid a rush and ensure that the law and order situation remain under control," said the police chief. He asked the cricket fans to avoid carrying cameras, mobile phones, contraband items, sharps objects and eatables into the stadium. Mr Pasha asked the people to show exemplary respect towards the India team and rise to their reputation of being a traditionally hospitable people.
