LAHORE: Processions taken out in cities and towns across the country to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA) culminated peacefully on Sunday.

With Rangers on standby, police provided extensive cover to the processions which were divided into three categories — major, moderate and small — on the basis of potential terror threats.

Major processions were taken out in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Bhakkar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang and a couple of other towns in Punjab. Policemen and snipers were deployed along the routes of the processions and posted on roofs of buildings. Similar arrangements were made in Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta with routes of the processions dotted with barriers and containers to block entry of suspected elements.

Yaum-i-Ali processions advance, amid tight security

Besides walkthrough security gates, arrangements were made for extensive CCTV coverage. Sniffer dogs were also used to detect suspected objects. In almost all cities and towns, pillion-riding was banned with partial restrictions on mobile phone service.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2014