LAHORE, Nov 9: The city witnessed high alert on the eve of President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s visit on Thursday as the police, law-enforcement agencies and para-military forces were deployed on all major routes.

An intensive patrolling of police, rangers and military vehicles was seen in the Cantonment area, The Mall and Jail Road. Military officials were also deployed on some routes.

During the president’s visit to Alhamra Art Complex near Qadhafi Stadium at about 8:30pm, commuters and pedestrians suffered as traffic was diverted from the Ferozpur Road, the Main Boulevard and other connecting roads.

“Six routes have been fixed for the movement of the president for his three-day visit and strict security arrangements have been made,” official sources told Dawn. They said military police had also set up temporary check posts at different places, including Pajian on Raiwind Road.

The sources further said almost 90 per cent operational police staff and half of the investigation wing strength from 76 police stations of the city had been deployed for the VVIP security and the Tablighi moot.

They said at least 2,600 operations police personnel had been deployed on designated routes out of which 315 were in plainclothes while 48 police vehicles, 12 mobile squads, 44 squads of Muhafiz force were used along the VVIP routes.

Meanwhile, the rumour of a blast in Muslim Town area created panic in the city as the police rushed to the spot soon after the news broke out.

The explosion was that of a transformer which caught fire due to some problem near Naqsha Stop on Wahdat Road.

CCPO VISITS RAIWIND: Capital City Police Chief Additional IG Khawaja Khalid Farooq on Thursday visited Raiwind and reviewed security arrangements made by the police on the eve of annual congregation.

DIG (operations) Aamir Zulifqar Khan, SSP Traffic Waseem Ahmed Khan Sial and SP Saddar Tariq Rustam Chohan briefed him about the security arrangements at a police camp set up there.