KARACHI, Jan 17: The Sindh Home Secretary, Arif Ahmed, said that all possible measures had been taken to ensure peace on the eve of Ashura in the city and other parts of the province by deploying Rangers, police and other personnel of law enforcing agencies in plain clothes at all sensitive places including imambargahs, mosques and routes of the Moharram processions.

Talking to newsmen, the official said that a control room had been set up in the home department and in every district headquarters working round-the-clock.

He said a red alert had been declared in the province and leave of absence of all employees had been cancelled. Besides, he said, the army would also be made available, if required anywhere, to maintain law and order.

The home secretary said that vigilance of the Moharram processions routes, railway stations, bus stops, important installations and other crowded public places had also been stepped up by installing secret cameras.

In reply to a question, he said that directives had been again issued to the traffic police to remove and penalize all those vehicles having tinted glasses.

He said that it was brought into his notice that most of the vehicles with tinted glasses were found in the use of those having political clout including some government functionaries.

“Instructions have been issued to the police to strictly enforce the law without any discrimination and anyone found violating traffic rules should not be spared”, he pointed out and said that after Ashura a concerted campaign would be launched in this regard.

He also instructed his additional secretary to issue fresh instructions to all mobile phone companies not to issue connections without a CNIC copy and warned them of strict action.

The home secretary said that it was brought to his knowledge that certain cellphone firms were indulging in illegal practice of selling SIMs to customers without collecting the copy of their CNICs. In this connection a meeting of the mobile phone companies would be called after Ashura, he said.