LARAKANA, Feb 27: In the wake of bomb attacks on shrines and spiritual leaders in Jacobabad and Shikarpur districts, administrations of Larkana and Khairpur have declared the most frequently visited shines as ‘sensitive’ and decided to beef up their security.
According to a handout, the Larkana administration has declared 10 shrines as sensitive, which are; Mashori Sharif, Qaim Shah Bukhari, Jaral Shah, Syed Usif Shah Jilani, Mohammad Siddik Rashdi, Pir Taqi Shah (Badah town), Shah Hussain Shah (Ratodero), Sakhi Ali Shah (Mirokhan), Mehar Shah Bukhari and Pir Mitha Saeen.
Larkana SSP Javed Soonharo Jiskani told Dawn that there were a total of 50 shrines in the district out of which 10 were the most frequently visited and, therefore, declared sensitive from the security’s point of view.
He said that policemen had already been deployed at these shrines. They would be joined by volunteers within a couple of days who would help them make the shrines secure. “It’s a new phenomenon in Sindh which requires extraordinary arrangements,” he said.
He said that at present the district faced a severe shortage of police force. There were only 1,400 effective and 1,500 ineffective policemen. Total strength of police force including officers was 3,500 out of whom 600 were off active duty and busy attending different courses and the ineffective ones were engaged in security duties, VIP duties and personal security, he said.
KHAIRPUR: The Khairpur district administration also held a meeting late on Tuesday evening and took decisions on making foolproof security arrangements in and around ‘sensitive’ shrines in the district.
In-charge SSP Pir Mohammad Shah informed the meeting that 13 shrines had been declared sensitive and funds had been approved for installation of closed-circuit cameras at these shrines. An effective security plan had also been devised for the shrines’ security, he said.
Custodians and caretakers of 80 shrines, including those of Sakhi Sachal Sarmast shrine, Dargah Ranipur, Dargah Doonho Babarloi, Dargah Nanik Faqeer and Dargah Shadi Shaheed attended the meeting.
SUKKUR: Activists of the Pakistan People’s Party-Shaheed Bhutto took out a procession in Jacobabad on Wednesday to protest against bomb attacks on Syed Ghulam Hussain Shah of Qambar and the shrine of Hajan Shah Mari in Shikarpur district.
The procession led by party leaders Haji Ahmad Khoso, Abdul Latif Pechuho and Babloo Jakhrani marched on roads before reaching the press club where the participants observed a token hunger strike for two hours.
The protesters’ leaders said the attacks on Syed Ghulam Hussain Shah and Hajan Shah Mari were acts of terrorism. The government was not making sincere efforts to maintain law and order and curb terrorism, they said.
They said the terrorist attacks had created panic and harassment among people and badly affected business and trade activities while police had miserably failed to arrest real culprits. They had picked up many innocent people and shoved them into lockups, they said.
They urged the government to take stern action against the culprits and warned the party would stage protests if it failed to do so.