MANSEHRA: Two-day Tableeghi Ijtima opened in the Baffa area of Mansehra district and Judbah area of Torghar district on Friday amid tight security with thousands of people attending the congregations of religious preachers.

Also in the day, such gatherings concluded in Pattan area of Lower Kohistan district and Balakot area of Mansehra district.

The police said they deployed over 1,000 police personnel at congregation sites and remained on “high alert” to deal with any untoward situation.

The organisers said hundreds of volunteers from the Tableeghi Jamaat, Raiwind, performed security duty holding batons and sticks.

They said walkthrough gates were installed at the entrance to congregation sites, while people were body-searched by volunteers before being allowed to enter the premises.

Over 1,000 police personnel deployed for security at congregation sites

Mansehra deputy commissionerBilal Shahid Rao and district police officer Zahoor Babar Afridi visited the Baffa Tableeghi Ijtima site and checked security arrangements.

The Tableeghi Jamaat claimed over 400,000 people were expected to attend the two-day event.

Torghar deputy commissioner Ziaur Rehman Marwat and police officers visited the Judbah congregation’s venue along the Indus River and examined security checks.

Head of security volunteers Mohammad Raj said that over 200,000 people were expected to attend the Judbah gathering.

The organisers said that the international Tableeghi Ijtima would be held in Raiwind (Lahore) in November.

KKH BLOCKED: Scores of people blocked the Karakoram Highway for several hours in Upper Kohistan district on Friday against the closure of the district headquarters hospital in Dasu.

The protesters gathered at the highway after marching on roads.

The Karakoram Highway’s blockade suspended traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan and among districts.

Religious scholar Maulana Waliullah Tohidee, who led the protest, said that the government had handed over the DHQ hospital to NGO Nida Pakistan under the public-private partnership but the latter didn’t pay salary to doctors, paramedics and other staff members for five months before closing the facility down.

He also alleged the embezzlement of hospital funds and demanded strict action against the culpable people.

Another protester, Maulana Abdul Aziz, warned if the hospital didn’t resume operation, the Karakoram Highway would be blocked for an indefinite period.

Participant of the rally Fazl Haq resented the hospital’s closure and said that the denial of free healthcare to people amid record inflation was intolerable.

He demanded of authorities to intervene for the reopening of the hospital.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023