KARACHI, Sept 23: As the Sindh High Court resumes hearing of the May 12 mayhem after two weeks on Monday, the city police have been put on alert with 600 personnel deputed to check the entry of ‘unconcerned’ people to the court premises.

To ensure maximum security and to avoid any untoward incident police have set up blockades on all the link roads using huge containers.

According to officials concerned, these security steps have been taken in compliance with the orders of a seven-member bench. The police had been ordered that no litigant person be allowed to enter the SHC premises without a pass issued by the court. The order was issued after hundreds of Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers stormed the court’s building on Sept 10, when the court was due to hear a suo motu inquiry into the May 12 violence. However, the MQM leadership was of the view that party workers were the witnesses to the May 12 violence and wanted to furnish personal affidavits before the SHC bench.

“The measures have been taken following the SHC directives and we have designed a comprehensive security plan to implement the court orders,” Capital City Police Officer Azhar Ali Farooqi told Dawn.

He said that the police force had been directed not to allow anyone without a pass entry to the court besides setting up of blockades on all the roads leading to the SHC building. However, he ruled out any traffic mess due to the closure of these arteries during the rush hours. “Obviously traffic flow will be slowed down due to checking of passes by the policemen,” he added.

According to sources in the police, two meetings of the high-ups were held on Sunday to finalise security measures which wrapped up with plans to call commando force if required.

“Forces from different police stations including Garden, Nabi Bux, Mithadar, Kharadar, Eidgah, Artillery Maidan, City Courts and Aram Bagh have been directed to report at 6am,” said a source privy to the meetings.

He said that as many as 200 commandos from the Elite Force had also been put on call to maintain the law and order situation during the seven-bench proceedings.

“The security plan from the police is well in place and if anyone tries to defy then there are strong chances of deterioration in the law and order situation,” he added.

Earlier on Sept 10, an SHC bench had adjourned the suo motu inquiry into May 12 events for a week because of a massive gathering of workers of the MQM on the SHC premises.

The proceedings were further adjourned to Sept 24 because one of the bench members, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, proceeded on leave to attend a human rights conference in Hong Kong.

In the meantime over 1,500 Muttahida supporters had filed their affidavits containing eyewitness accounts of the May 12 events accusing the opposition parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party, the Awami National Party and the Jamaat-i-Islami, for the violence.

The officials said that the security plan had been chalked out exclusively for the Sept 24 hearing; however its continuation would depend on the outcome of the day.