Sindh Government Takes Strict Security Measures On Ashura, Pillion Riding Banned

The provincial government has announced a ban on pillion riding across Sindh, including Karachi, on the 9th and 10th Muharram.

There will be a ban on pillion riding from the 9th of Muharram until Ashura in order to maintain law and order and avoid any untoward incident.

The Sindh government has also requested the ministry to block the mobile phone services along the procession routes on Muharram 9 and 10.

According to media reports, as many as 69,545 police personnel will perform security duties across the province including 17,558 in Karachi. 

Of these, 16,816 will be in Hyderabad, 2,237 in Mirpurkhas, 9,280 in Shaheed Benazirabad, 8,258 in Sukkar and 15,404 in Larkana, reads a contingency plan prepared by AIG Operations Sindh for Muharram.

                Karachi's MA Jinnah Road sealed

In Karachi, MA Jinnah Road has been sealed with containers and other barriers and would remain unavailable for routine traffic on 9th and 10th Muharram. Roads joining Saddar Regal Chowk, corridor-3 to Saddar Dawa Khana have also been sealed for traffic.
Security has been beefed-up for the 9th and 10th Muharram processions in the metropolis. The police have sealed shops and blocked roads with containers.

The Sindh government has declared 9th and 10th September (Monday and Tuesday) as public holidays on the occasion of Ashura.

    218 processions declared sensitive in Hyderabad

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hyderabad district Adeel Hussain Chandio has said some 218 mourning processions and majalis have been declared as sensitive in Hyderabad.

He added, over 4,000 policemen would be deployed for security on the Muharram 10 in addition to the Rangers. A unit of Pakistan Army would be in a standby position.

He said although there was no specific threat of a terrorist attack in Hyderabad, the security officials were ensuring stringent security to prevent any incident.