LAHORE – Thirty-six special teams, comprising senior cops, have been dispatched to all districts of the province as the Punjab security plan has been revised following the terror attack on mourners in Rawalpindi.
According to a police spokesperson, these police teams would remain on security duties in the designated districts until the 11th of Muharram. The special teams would also remain in close contact with Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammad Habibur Rehman, Additional IGP Malik Khuda Bakhsh Awan and DIG (Operations) Sohail Ahmed Khan.
The provincial police chief said that all the policemen would stand guard or stand-by to ensure foolproof security during the holy month. Proper monitoring of hotels, inns, and rest-houses will also be ensured to keep a check. The meeting also finalized the security arrangements for the Muharram processions and routes across the province.
The decision was taken during a meeting held at the Central Police Office on Thursday under IGP Rehman. Additional IGP, Additional IG (Traffic) Kalbe Abbas, Additional IG (Finance and Welfare) Sarmad Saeed, Additional IG (Investigations) Naseemul Zaman Siddiqi, Additional IG (Patrolling) Khan Baig, Additional IG (Training) Mubarak Ali Athar, DIG (Headquarters) Muhammad Aamlesh, and DIG (Operations) Sohail Ahmed Khan attended the meeting.
The meeting decided that Additional-IG (Traffic) Kalb-e-Abbas, DIG (Tele) Dr Arif Mushtaq Chaudhry, and Principal of Police Training College Chuhng, SSP Suleman Sultan Rana would led their squad in Lahore, Additional-IG (Training) Mubarak Ali Athar in Multan, Additional-IG (Investigations) Naseemul Zaman Siddiqi and Commandant Police College Sihala Ghulam Rasool Zahid in Rawalpindi, Additional-IG (Finance and Welfare) Sarmad Saeed in Okara, Additional-IG (PHP) Khan Baig in Sheikhupura, Commandant Punjab Constabulary Ahmed Raza Tahir in Bahawalpur, DIG Traffic Punjab Rana Muhammad Iqbal in DG Khan, DIG Training Punjab Syed Muhammad Abid Qadri in Gujranwala, DIG (Establishment) Punjab Tariq Masood Yasin in Attock, DIG (CTD) Punjab Javed Islam in Sahiwal, DIG Investigations Branch (Punjab) Abu Bakar Khuda Bukhsh in Bhakkar, Deputy Commandant Punjab Constabulary Syed Dilawar Abbas and SSP Traffic (Headquarters) Punjab Fayyaz Ahmed Dev in Sargodha, SSP (Headquarters) Elite Police Force Zaeem Iqbal Sheikh in Jehlum, SSP Battalion (Commander-I) Punjab Constabulary Usama Mumtaz Raja in Toba Tek Singh, Deputy Commandant Police College Sihala Muhammad Wisal Fakhar Sultan in Sialkot, SSP (Investigations Branch) Punjab Imtaiz Ahmed Malik in Narowal, SSP (CID) Punjab Abdul Saeed Naveed in Hafizabad, SSP Police College Sihala Sabir Ahmed in Chakwal, SSP (Investigations Branch) Punjab Zahid Hussain Sherazi in Mianwali, AIG (Discipline) Abdul Qadir Qayyum in Gujrat, AIG (Inspection) Khalida Khurshid in Lodhran, AIG (Training) Maqsoodul Hassan in Khanewal, AIG (Logistic) Raja Riffat Mukhtar in Pakpattan, AIG (Career Planning) Khurram Shakoor in Nankana, AIG (Development) Muhammad Ahmed Kamal in Kasur, Deputy Director Elite Police Force Punjab Kamran Adil in Mandi Bahauddin, SP Legal PTS Chuhng Sardar Karamat Ali in Bahawalnagar, SP (PC) Multan Muhammad Bakir in Rajanpur, SP (Battalion Commander-IV Faisalabad) in Muzaffargarh, SP (Battalion-VII) Munir Ahmed Zia Rao in Layyah, SSP Headquarters (PHP) Zulifqar Hameed in Faisalabad, SSP (PHP) Lahore Hashmat Kamal in Jhang, SSP (Investigations Branch) Punjab Muhammad Waqar Abbasi in Chiniot, SP (Battalion Commander-V) Punjab Constabulary Syed Jaffar Abbas in Vehari, SP Chaudhry Shafiq Gujjar in Rahim Yar Khan and SP (PC) Rawalpindi Abid Abbas Shah will supervise Muharram security in Khushab district.
Following the terror alerts, the government has put its machinery in action and readopted measures to cope with the situation emerged after the recent string of attacks on mourners. The measures include ban on riding pillion during 9th and 10th Muharram, stop-and-search posts, and strict surveillance to maintain peace during the sensitive days. Also, the bigwigs reviewed Muharram arrangements and paid visits to routs of procession and venues of sittings.