PESHAWAR: Ashura was observed peacefully in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid tight security the other day.

In Peshawar, strict security measures were adopted on Ashura as more than 12,000 cops were deployed across the city to thwart any untoward incident. More than 12 processions were taken out in the provincial capital, which concluded peacefully after passing through designated routes. In the evening, mahafil shame-i-ghariban were held across the city.

The provincial capital was put on high alert to provide security to the mourners while mobile phone service remained suspended till conclusion of the processions.

Talking to reporters after end of the procession, KP police chief Dr Mohammad Naeem Khan praised the police personnel for maintaining peace during Muharram.

He said that Muharram processions peacefully concluded despite security threats. He said that security arrangements this time were way better than in the past. He said that local elders and people also played positive role in the maintenance of law and order during these days.

He said that the chief minister also played crucial role in the Muharram security. He said the police had been thwarting designs of saboteurs and would continue to do so.

In Kohat, mourners’ procession of 11th of Muharram was taken out from Ustarzai, Hangu Road, amid tight security of 1,000 security personnel.

District police officer Wahid Mehmood supervised the procession himself.

More than a dozen mourners processions were taken out in Kohat, including three in the city, whereas 52 congregations were held on Ashura.

The processions from Imamabrahs of Kalo, Sangerh and Syed Habib gathered at Zargran Chowk where speakers highlighted the sacrifices of the martyrs of Karbala.

The participants passed through the tehsil gate and Bazar-e-Mustafa and the procession culminated at the shrine of Ghazi Alamdar.

Regional police officer DIG Tayyab Hafeez Cheema told journalists that the Ahle Sunnat people displayed exemplary brotherhood, peace, love and tolerance by establishing sabeels of milk and cold water at the mourners’ routes for their Shia brothers in Kohat, Hangu, Orakzai and Kurram districts.

Ashura was also observed in Lakki Marwat amid tight security. A joint procession of alam, zuljinnah and tazia was taken out from Imambargh in Mohallah Sayyedan in Lakki city. It passed through traditional routes and converged in Bukhari Shah Graveyard.

Deputy commissioner Jahangir Azam Wazir and DPO Qasim Ali Khan supervised security and other arrangements.

Availability of ambulance vehicles with doctors and paramedics was ensured with the procession. Scouts of the government schools and staffers of the municipal administration, SNGPL, Pesco and PTCL were also deployed with the mourners’ procession.

Syed Zahoor Abbas Shah, Sona Khan and Qaiser Abbas shed light on the sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his companions for the supremacy of Islam.

Ashura was also observed on Tuesday peacefully in Mardan, Nowshera, Haripur, Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Kurram, Orakzai and other parts of the province.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2019