PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Thursday ordered the release of the funds required for security measures during Muharram, saying maintaining law and order in the province is the top priority of his government.

Chairing a meeting here, the chief minister said that authorities should pay special attention to sensitive districts for foolproof security measures in Muharram.

He also asked them to contact religious leaders of different sects and elected public representatives to promote religious harmony and tolerance, according to an official statement by the chief minister’s secretariat.

Mr Gandapur issued orders for the installation of tents on the routes of mourning processions in view of the heat wave and said that officials should contact the Peshawar and tribal areas electric supply companies to ensure uninterrupted power supply to Muharram processions and majalis.

He ordered the introduction of an effective mechanism of coordination among the relevant departments and agencies at provincial, divisional and district levels.

Mr Gandapur urged religious leaders and people to play their proactive role in maintaining law and order and promoting sectarian harmony during Muharram.

He also examined the security plan and arrangements for Muharram during the meeting.

The participants included the provincial chief secretary, additional chief secretary home, police chief and administrative secretaries. The divisional commissioners, regional police officers, deputy commissioners and district police officers attended the meeting via video link.

Officials briefed the meeting about Muharram’s security plan and said that the mourning processions and gatherings would be held in 14 districts with eight districts declared as the most sensitive and six sensitive in light of the law and order situation.

They also said that around 40,000 security personnel would be deployed across the province in Muharram, whereas special contingents of Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army would be engaged for protecting mourning processions and majalis.

The officials told the meeting that a central control room with representatives of all relevant departments and law-enforcement agencies was being set up at the home department.

They also said that special arrangements would be made for the security of sensitive districts and places across the province.

The officials said that mourning processions and majalis would be monitored through closed circuit television cameras, whereas a ban had been slapped on the display of arms, pillion riding, and hateful wall-chalking.

They said that special initiatives were proposed to constantly monitor social media pages to control hateful contents and negative propaganda during the month of Muharram.

The officials also said that mobile phone service would be suspended in sensitive districts, while staff of health and rescue departments would be assigned special duties with the purpose to effectively deal with any untoward situation.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2024