PESHAWAR: Muharram 9 was observed peacefully in different parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday amid tight security.

Authorities put the security in sensitive areas on high alert in view of the rising terrorist attacks of late.

The police and other law-enforcement agencies deployed personnel in uniform and plainclothes on the routes of mourning procession, outside imambargahs, and other places.

In the cantonment area of Peshawar, a large mourning procession was taken out from the main Imambargah Hussainia Hall in the morning.

After flagellating themselves outside the imambargah, the participants marched on the roads in Saddar area and offered Zohrain prayer at the Fawara Chowk.

Police personnel deployed for security of mourners

The speakers paid homage to Imam Hussain and other martyrs of the Battle of Karbala.

The mourners later returned to the Imambargah Hussainia Hall.

Capital city police officer Qasim Ali Khan said the police had deployed 14,000 personnel in Peshawar city and cantonment areas for the security of mourners.

He also said 10 platoons of the Frontier Constabulary and Quick Response Unit of the Pakistan Army were also there to help the police ensure peace.

The Muharram 9 processions were also held in Haripur amid tight security measures.

The main procession was taken out from the Imambargah Imamia Sajjadia Mohallah Motiyan. It concluded at the Imambargah Gurdwara School.

The participants included mourners from Haripur city and other parts of the district. They flagellated and thumped their chests on the route that was cordoned off by the personnel of the police, counter-terrorism department, Special Branch and FC.

The organisers installed walk-through gates and CCTV cameras on the route as a security measure, while the bomb disposal squad checked the area before allowing mourners to march. Police snipers were deployed on building rooftops.

The administration sealed the main bazaar and the link roads with barbed wires.

The district was declared sensitive with an armed clash between two sects in Shah Muhammad village on Muharram 7, leaving 14 people, including two policemen and a journalist, injured.

Religious scholar Dr Hasnain Raza Turabi stressed the need for intersect harmony to promote peace.

Also, the Muharram 9 processions were taken out in Dera Ismail Khan city.

The main procession was taken out from the Imambargah Bammun Shah in the morning. The participants marched on the traditional route and converged on the Jamia Masjid Latu Faqeer at noon. Processions from other local imambargahs also joined it.

Organisers of majalis and mourning processions expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements by the police. They assured law-enforcement agencies of their cooperation for the maintenance of peace during Muharram, especially on Ashura.

A spokesman for police said that the department had divided the district into different zones and sectors, deploying over 8,500 officers and personnel in various areas as part of the Muharram security plan.

He said that the police personnel were also deployed on the routes of mourning processions, which were monitored by CCTV cameras as well.

With several streets sealed in the district, the bomb disposal squad swept the routes before and after the mourners passed.

Police officers visited procession routes and other areas and examined security arrangements. They ordered foolproof arrangements for security.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024