KARACHI: As many as 69,545 policemen would perform security duty during Ashura across Sindh, stated a report presented to IGP Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam by the AIG Operations, according to a police spokesperson.

Separately, Karachi South Zone police on Sunday held a flag march on main mourning procession to create a sense of security in the people, said South SSP Omar Shahid Hamid.

Reviewing contingency/deployment plan for Muharram, the Sindh IG directed all officers concerned to personally check security on procession routes and Imambargahs and other places.

It was pointed out that there were a total of 1,996 Imambargahs in Sindh where 14,699 Majalis, 3,513 mourning processions and 786 Tazia processions would be held.

According to the police spokesperson, 17,558 policemen would be deployed in Karachi, 16,816 in Hyderabad, 2,237 in Mirpurkhas, 9,280 in Shaheed Benazirabad, 8,258 in Sukkur and 15,404 in Larkana.

As per contingency plan, rapid response force and reserve platoons of the police would be deployed immediately to meet any eventuality and prevent any untoward situation while emergency traffic plan would also be implemented.

Bomb Disposal Squad would be deployed to check procession routes while processions of 8th, 9th and 10th of Muharram would be monitored with the help of closed-circuit television cameras.

A central command and control room has also been established at the Central Police Office, which will monitor the procession and issue directions for implementation.

Furthermore, a regional command and control room in Civic Centre will also monitor the processions in Karachi.

As per Muharram security strategy, security will be provided to prominent religious personalities and strict vigilance will be kept on anti-social elements.

Provocative speeches and graffiti spreading religious hatred will not be allowed.

As per the security plan, picketing and snap checking will also be done besides movement of people put under the Fourth Schedule and prisoners released from prisons will also be monitored.

Banned sectarian outfits will not be allowed to take out rallies while special steps will be taken at ‘flash points’ located on routes of the processions.

The police will also make efforts to remove encroachments from the routes, seal shops/warehouses and ensure parking at reasonable distance while checking of routes by the bomb disposal squad will also be carried out.

Flag march in Saddar

The South police on Sunday organised a flag march on the route of Ashura processions on M. A. Jinnah Road, Saddar, Tibet Centre and Clifton and Yasrib Imambargah in Defence, which was aimed at creating a sense of security in the people, according to South SSP Omar Shahid Hamid.

As many as 50 motorcycles of Street Watch Force of South police, along with sub-divisional police officers, SHOs participated in the flag march.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2018