PESHAWAR, May 30: Keeping in view the proposed visit of the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Saturday, the city police have beefed up security measures and assigned fresh duties to officials to avert any untoward incident on the occasion.

A police official of the security branch told this correspondent that supervision duties had been assigned to the police officers who were supposed to keep vigilance on movement of the people along the Grand Trunk (GT) Road within their respective jurisdictions.

Extraordinary security measures, he said, had been taken around the PHC building, including installation of explosive jammers, walk-through-gates, and the bulletproof stage as part of the VVIP protocol for the CJP.

The officer said personnel of the law-enforcement agencies would also perform duties on rooftops of various buildings including the PHC, Provincial Assembly and other surrounding buildings.

Referring to a security meeting, the official said, all the station house officers had been asked to tighten security measures, ensure checking of the suspected people, especially the Afghan nationals, on all the entry and exit points in the limits of Peshawar.

Meanwhile, SP Security Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, when contacted told Dawn that the city police would also avail support of the Frontier Constabulary and Frontier Corps in case of need. The deployed forces, he said, would be fully equipped with all kinds of weapons and vehicles.

He said the people could park their vehicles only at the specified car parking zones, near the district courts,

Nishtar Hall, and that parking on the roads would not be allowed.

He avoided disclosing number of the police personnel to be deployed, however, said that pickets would be established at various points. SP traffic Saleem Khan when contacted told Dawn that traffic at the GT Road Chowk (mainly the heavy vehicles) would be diverted to the Ring Road, Dalazak Road and that those coming from Hayatabad side would also be diverted to the Ring Road.

He said about 80 traffic police personnel would be deployed on one side of the GT Road. The traffic police official said the traffic plan would be adopted when the motorcade of the deposed chief justice would arrive in the city.

On the other hand, various trade organizations have announced full support to the legal fraternity in their struggle for independence of judiciary and rule of law in the country.

Markazi Tanzeem-i-Tajiran, NWFP, general secretary Sharafat Ali Mubarik and Anjuman-i-Tajiran, Peshawar, senior vice-president Shaukat Ali Khan in their statements on Friday appreciated the lawyers for launching a movement for strengthening of democracy and supremacy of the constitution in the country.

The role being played by the legal fraternity, the traders said, would always be remembered with good words in the judicial history of Pakistan.