PESHAWAR: The fresh wave of terrorism and detailed security checks by police and army triggered fear and uncertainty in the provincial capital, as home and tribal affairs department ordered the authorities concerned to adopt fresh standard operating procedures to cope with the prevailing situation.

Messages on social media, warning people to stop at security checkposts and police barriers otherwise they would be shot, were circulated among friends and family members for their safety while traffic jams owing to thorough security checks in the city resulted in hassle for the residents of the city.

Police set up around 30 new checkpoints in addition to 40 permanent ones across the city while army established over dozens security barriers in the cantonment area alone.

Snap checking caused gridlock and vehicles were seen crawling at a snail’s pace especially on the Grand Trunk Road. A flyover was also closed in the morning that further added to the traffic mess.

Wave of terrorism, extensive security checks trigger fear in Peshawar

Police personnel instruct people, especially men, not to wear the traditional shawls. Body search of pedestrians has also been increased and law enforcers are checking Computerised National Identity Cards of people.

Police and other law enforcement agencies have started search and strike operations in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A source said that several people were taken into custody for having connections with terrorist outfits.

The home and tribal affairs department issued directives to all divisional commissioners and regional police officers that permission for conducting public gatherings/meetings should only be granted where foolproof security arrangements could be ensured to avoid any untoward incident.

“Permission for such gatherings may be granted after evaluating security concerns of the particular area,” the department directed the quarters concerned through a letter issued on Wednesday.

A senior official told Dawn that detailed security arrangements were made after receiving guidelines from the office of the national security adviser that called for special security measures in the wake of recent wave of terrorist attacks across the country.

Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Tahir Khan said that threat level increased due to back-to-back terror incidents across the country that forced police to adopt preventive measures to avoid maximum damage.

“Police realise that citizens are facing great inconvenience because of these measures, but we have to take serious steps to ensure safety of people. This is not a normal situation and we took extra measures. So people should cooperate with the police and other agencies,” he said.

Mr Khan said that under the new security arrangements, 30 new special checkpoints had been established in the city that might have caused traffic jam.

He said that law enforcement agencies were jointly conducting search and strike operations.

Police have also started security mapping of sensitive and vulnerable installations and buildings in the city.

The home department issued “A” category alerts after receiving information about specific threat alerts. Standard operating procedures have been issued to all departments, ordering them to adopt extra precautions.

The department ordered police and other agencies to take quick action in case of terror attack instead of waiting for the backup.

“All the first responders may be sensitised that in the wake of any terrorist incident; they should take the lead and engage the perpetrators. It has been observed that the first responders generally wait for further support before engaging the terrorists.

This resulted in loss of precious time and give time to the terrorists to occupy space and spread terror,” said an official document.

According to the document, hospitals should adhere to the new SOPs so that a secondary terrorist activity may be averted. Vigilance teams would be constituted at provincial level to pay surprise visits to all government installations for checking various aspects of security.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2017