PESHAWAR, Feb 3: Police have obtained an undertaking from residents and traders in the walled city whereby they would pull down their shop shutters and bolt the doors and windows of their homes during processions on the 9th and 10th of Muharram, official sources told Dawn on Thursday.

Police have tightened security around imambargahs in the provincial metropolis and are finalizing plans to enhance their strength on main thoroughfares and roads where mourners’ processions are scheduled to pass through.

The security plan has not designated any of the imambargahs as “sensitive”, according to sources. However, police will maintain a security cordon at religious places and roads where the mourning processions would pass through, they added.

The sources said that senior police official had sent two memos to the police stations where most of the imambargahs are located and asked them to obtain a written undertaking from residents and music centres that they would do their utmost to maintain peace on the 9th and 10th of Muharram.

Copies of the undertaking were distributed among residents in the walled city whereby signatories were required to remain indoors during the processions. Residents have been asked to keep the doors and windows of their houses closed and refrain from viewing the processions from their rooftops.

Similarly music shops and centres were asked to shut down their shops after sunset during the month of Muharram. During business hours the music centres were urged not to play music loudly or listen to the speeches of religious persons. Also, owners of music shops have been asked to close their shops on the 9th and 10th of Muharram.