KARACHI: Keeping in view the new wave of acts of terrorism across the country, the Sindh health ministry on Sunday ordered the heads of various city hospitals to perk up their facilities and strengthen their capacity in wake of any untoward incident during Eidul Fitr, officials said.

Officials in the health ministry told Dawn that several meetings had been held vis-a-vis increasing violence in the country to consider the strategy to ensure better preparedness in event of any unpleasant happening in the province.

They said the senior authorities had sent special directives to all the major hospitals in public and private sectors asking them to ensure preparedness in wake of any untoward incident.

The authorities, officials said, had already decided to improve trauma-related facilities in Karachi and elsewhere in the province. Besides, standard operating procedures had been issued separately to doctors and paramedics of all hospitals.

The city administration, meanwhile, has decided to improve coordination among hospital managements, city administration and the police to help hospitals on legal and administrative issues.

Meanwhile, the Sindh home ministry has already sent an alert across the province to ensure people celebrated Eid peacefully.

Officials said the home ministry had already announced ‘foolproof’ arrangements for security of mosques, Eidgahs and imambargahs on Eidul Fitr.

They said despite being heavily stretched the police had been asked to keep on maximum alert to foil all sorts of anti-state conspiracies when people would be engaged in Eid festivities.

“We know the number of policemen, including those from the Rapid Response Force and the reserve force, are not sufficient to secure every religious place, yet, we are using our all possible resources to make it happen,” said a senior official in the Sindh government.

Earlier, the home ministry had declared that all places where Eid prayers were scheduled to be held would be given foolproof security.

The home ministry said a total of 3,664 mosques, 447 Eidgahs or open spaces, 230 imambargahs or jamaatkhanas were in various zones of the city.

A total of 9,135 policemen, including senior officers, have been assigned to provide security to them. Besides, six platoons from the Rapid Response Force and several others from the reserve police would be engaged in the exercise.

Officials said, the division of the assigned force would be made in accordance with the threat perception in a particular area or certain places for Eid prayers.

They said they had further segregated the deployment in accordance with most sensitive, sensitive and normal places.

Apart from the places where Eid prayers would be offered, a number of shrines and graveyards and worship places of minority faiths had also been included in the overall strategy.

“We are trying not to leave any loophole in the overall strategy to make Eid fully secured,” said a senior official.

All the ranges of the Sindh police and zone DIGs have been ordered not to show any complacency especially during Eid prayers.

In another notification, the home ministry has ordered that security be tightened at public and recreational places, including parks, during Eid days when families would be there to celebrate the festivities.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2017