LAHORE - The Punjab government ensured the three-layer police security for the leaders and activists of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, attending the public meeting on Sunday.
More than 4,000 policemen were put on high alert to ensure security for the public gathering of PTI on Sunday. Hundreds of policemen in plainclothes were also deployed among the participants and around the venue of the gathering.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Amin Wains said that additional police force contingents remained on call in case of any untoward happening. The CCPO also expressed his satisfaction over the security arrangements. Duty in-charges were deployed at the entry points at least an hour before the public meeting started. The police chief further said that the participants of the rally were given best security for peaceful gathering and also warned that the miscreants would be dealt with iron hands.
The police also closed the adjacent roads and arteries at Azadi Chowk by placing barriers to restrict the movement of vehicles towards the rally site. Metal detectors, sniffing dogs, anti-riot policemen, heavy contingent of women police and sharpshooters on rooftops were also deployed in the area. Police patrolling was intensified in the entire locality.
CCPO Amin also said that the Lahore police had adopted extensive security measures to prevent the occurrence of any untoward incident. Hundreds of personnel of Lahore Traffic police were also deployed at the main roads in the area to ensure smooth flow of traffic. More than 1500 traffic wardens including senior officers were deployed on the roads to manage the traffic in Lahore. The traffic police marked the space for the parking of vehicles. The traffic was diverted to other parts of Lahore from the adjacent roads leadings towards Azadi Chowk. The participants of the rally had to pass through special points before reaching the venue of the meeting. The traffic wardens were provided at least 200 motorcycles including 125 heavy bikes, 12 lifters and 50 barriers to manage traffic flow during the rally.