RAWALPINDI: Yaum-i-Ashur was observed in the garrison city on Sunday amid tight security, with nine companies of the army, three companies of Rangers and 6,600 police officials stationed to maintain order in the district.

A central control room was also established to monitor the route of the mourning procession, along which more than 350 CCTV cameras had been installed.

Zuljinah and Alam processions were brought out from different places in Rawalpindi, with the main Zuljinah, Alam and Tazia processions brought out from Imambargah Col Maqbool Hussain on College Road and Imambargah Hifazat Ali Shah in Bohar Bazaar.

Zuljinah processions brought out from Imambargah Ashiq Hussain Teli Mohallah, Darbar Shah Chan Chiragh, and Imambargah Kashmirian in Tyre Bazaar also joined the main procession.

The main procession passed through its traditional route along Jamia Masjid Road, Sarafa Bazar, Fawara Chowk, College Road, Liaquat Bagh, Babra Bazaar, Committee Chowk, Trunk Bazar, Bara Market and Banni Chowk before culminating at Imambargah Kadeemi.

Apart from the main procession, 65 other processions and 113 majalis were held in different parts of the city.

City Police Officer Mohammad Ahsan Younis and other senior police officers accompanied the procession from the beginning to the end.

Streets, diversion points and other routes along the path of the procession were closed by containers, barriers and fences, while walkthrough gates were installed at the points of entry to the procession. Participants were allowed into the procession after a physical search.

Rescue 1122 had also devised a separate emergency plan with the deployment of more than 300 rescue workers. Special rescue posts were established along the route of the main procession which remained active until the procession ended.

Taxila

Ashura was observed in Taxila, Wah, Hassanabdal and Attock with strict security measures in place.

Police, local officials and personnel from various law enforcement agencies were deployed and troops were on standby to assist in the event of any untoward incident.

More than 50 Ashura processions were brought out of imambargahs in the Attock district, including the central procession from Imambargah Hussainia that culminated at Karbala Haleem Shah.

Attock Deputy Commissioner Ali Annan Qammar and District Police Officer Syed Khalid Hamdani supervised the main processions in Attock and Hassanabdal, respectively.

A mobile medical team from Rescue 1122 also provided medical cover, while more than 2,000 police personnel were deployed for security.

In Taxila, the main procession was taken out from the home of Basheer Ansari on Museum Road and, after passing through the traditional route, stopped at the railway station and Hazara phatak where small processions from other parts of the city gathered.

Representatives of the Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities also participated in the Alam procession.

In Wah Cantonment, the main procession was brought out from Imambargah Haider Road, with four layers of security and military deployed alongside police and Elite Force personnel. Video surveillance of the procession was carried out by the administration.

The procession culminated peacefully at Imambargah Karbala Chachi Mohallah.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2020