January 27, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 26, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 26: The Sindh government, imposed Section 144 with immediate effect, has banned carrying and display of any kind of arms at public places in the province.

If anyone violated the ban, his arms would be seized and the licence cancelled, Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui told newsmen at a briefing held in his office on Thursday.

He said that the step had been taken in view of the upcoming cricket match between Pakistan and India in Karachi and the holy month of Moharrum.

Mr Siddiqui, who had earlier held a meeting with Home Secretary Brig Ghulam Mohammad Mohtaram, IG Jehangir Mirza, CCPO Niaz Siddiqui and other officials, said that all arrangements to ensure peace during Moharrum had been finalized.

The police in uniform and plain clothes and the Rangers would be deployed at mosques, Imambargahs and other places whereas close-circuit cameras would be installed at such places.

In reply to a question, he said that about 7,000 police personnel had been assigned duty of security to VIPs. About 4,500 of them have been withdrawn to reinforce the force meant for maintaining peace during the holy month. The number of Rangers to perform security duty would be 11,000, he added.

The minister told newsmen that meetings had been held with religious leaders belonging to all schools of thought and a code of ethics had been evolved. The organizers of Majalis-i-Aza (mourning congregations) have been advised to intimate the concerned SHO, TPO and DPO 24 hours prior to the holding of the same.

Responding to a query, the minister told that over 2,300 such congregations would be held every day across the province during the holy month.

He said that no particular area or district would be declared ‘sensitive’ as it was the government’s prime duty to maintain peace in the entire province.

The minister said that the government had decided to grant posthumous promotions the martyred police officials and for this purpose, an officer would be assigned the task of sorting out such cases.

On the traffic issues, the minister said the campaign against tinted glass had not been stopped. “It will continue,” he said, adding that he did not want to create panic among citizens.

He said parking of vehicles on main roads would not be allowed, and warned that violators of traffic signals would get their licence suspended for six months.—PPI