ISLAMABAD - The law enforcement agencies and district administrative machinery fortified the Red Zone while cordoning off the points to and from the Constitutional Avenue hours before the appearance of Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani before the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court in the contempt of court case on Wednesday.
A number of police personnel with anti-riot material had been deputed on the entry and exit points of the Red Zone in general and at the two main entries of the Constitutional Avenue where the building of the apex court is located. Dozens of police personnel in the shape of chain cordoned off the front side of the Supreme Court building while helicopters started hovering the sky before the court proceedings for surveillance of the area. Police personnel had also been deputed on the rooftop of the apex court building.
The capital police had made a special security plan on the occasion of the PM appearance before SC. Since early morning, police had stared strict checking of those vehicles and persons entering the Red Zone while no body was allowed to enter the Supreme Court building without green passes issued by the Registrar Supreme Court office. Even the Cabinet members of the Prime Minister as well as chief ministers and governors of the provinces had been issued green entry passes.
Special scanners had been installed inside the Supreme Court building at the entry points of Court Room no 4 where the seven member bench of the Supreme Court had to assemble to announce its verdict in the contempt of curt case against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
A large number of lawyers, media persons, from local as well as international media, had started reaching the Sc building to hear the decision since early morning besides the federal ministers and senior leaders of the coalition partners of the PPP led federal government.
As the Prime Minister came out of the SC building after the announcement of decision, the police person and personnel of the intelligence agencies made a two-layered cordon around the Prime Minister and other parliamentarians and escorted him to the main gate of the SC where some workers of PPP had already gathered.
There was a stampede like situation outside the main entry of SC building when PM along with his cabinet colleagues came out from the gate specified for handicapped person adjacent to the main entry gate. PPP workers started raising slogans of PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as soon as they saw PM coming towards the main gate of the SC building.
Earlier, when the Prime Minister came out of his vehicle before the main gate, some PPP workers showered rose petals on him. Prime Minister wearing shalwar kameez and Sherwani looked calm and contented while entering the SC premises on foot, however, he left the court with a heavy heart looking some how worried and dejected.