March 10, 2007	Saturday	Safar 20, 1428

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KOHAT, March 9: In the wake of intelligence reports of a suicide attack on the chehlum procession, the local administration has sought cooperation from the general public, businessmen in particular, for foiling any terror strike.

In Kohat, the chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) is observed a week after the rest of country has observed it.

This is in line an agreement struck between the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and the Shia community in 1985. As such, the people of Kohat are to observe chehlum on March 15.

Kohat’s District Police Officer (DPO) Khalid Mahmood had held a meeting with the office-bearers of bazaar unions a few days back and sought their cooperation.

DPO Mahmood told Dawn that he had asked the business community to make proper lighting arrangements on the route of the chehlum procession.

The procession passes through Zargran bazaar, main bazaar and Mustafa bazaar.

He said he had asked them to inform police of any hiring of a shop or a flat on the route of the procession by any suspicious person.

He said the administration had decided to deploy the Frontier Constabulary to all points of entry into the district and install closed-circuit cameras on the route of the procession.

He quoted intelligence reports as warning that in case the terrorists failed to get close to the chehlum procession to carry out a suicide blast, they could try to raise controversial slogans during the majlis, held before the procession, to provoke tension.

The police official had also held a separate meeting with the Shia community leaders on Thursday.

He told them that the local chief of the Bangash tribe would be responsible for security clearance of the participants from their side.

The Bangash tribe comprises 22 villages of Kohat which participate in the chehlum procession in Kohat.

The same, he said, would apply to the groups of mourners coming to Kohat from Hangu, Orakzai Agency, Tirah and Kurram Agency.

The business community, in turn, assured the administration of all possible help for keeping peace on the occasion of chehlum.

The meeting was attended by the ASP headquarters, all DSPs, the SHOs of city, Cantonment and Saddar police stations, bazaar association president Mohammad Abid Paracha, chairman of mushtarika markets association Sher Khan Bangash, Islamic Traders Forum’s Mohammad Abid Khan and other prominent businessmen.