LAHORE: The Lahore police again on Tuesday increased security at all the entry/exit points of the provincial capital and on the leading roads of the city in the wake of the volatile law and order situation in Islamabad where the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers reportedly reached the D-Chowk.

There were reports that the Ring Road was once again closed down by the Lahore police as they were expecting that the PTI workers would opt for it to leave the city in groups.

The police placed zigzag barriers on Ferozepur Road, the Lahore Canal, The Mall, Jail Road, Main Boulevard of Gulberg and other major arteries of the city with a prime objective of weakening the strength of the PTI workers who tried to gather for a rally to leave for Islamabad.

The main troubling point of the city was the stretch of the road leading from Data Darbar to Bhati Chowk, the route marked by the PTI leaders and workers of the city to gather there in a large number before leaving the city to reach Islamabad.

Challenging the strategy of the PTI activists, the Lahore police forces were dispatched to the above-mentioned marked route where huge deployment and patrolling were enhanced to disperse the party men.

There were reports that the Lahore police have increased the deployment of the force to 10,000 in all the entry/exit points and major roads of the city in order to maintain the law and order situation.

The witnesses said the police placed barriers in the middle of major roads to slow down the traffic where the police personnel were searching and checking the vehicles.

Lahore Operations DIG Faisal Kamran denied the reports of barricading the provincial metropolis, saying the police just increased the security on the entry/exit points to disperse the ‘trouble makers.’

He said exit points on motorway [M-2] included Kala Shah Kaku, Babu Sabu, Thokar Niaz Beg, Ravi Road, Multan Road, GT Road, Saggian Bridge etc.

“We have increased police force at these points leading in and out the city”, the DIG said adding that the major focus has been shifted to the Bhati Chowk, Shahdara, where the PTI workers were trying to reach to leave the city.

He said families, ambulances and ‘other people’ were allowed to use the entry/exit points and the specific security arrangements were increased to stop the violent mobs of the political party.

No road of the city was closed down for general traffic or citizens to ensure routine life, he said.

Mr Kamran said police were expecting backlash from the PTI workers in Lahore following tension in the capital where the party’s workers were clashing with the law-enforcement agencies.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2024