Processions marking Muharram 9 ended across the country on Monday evening, with hundreds of thousands of people participating. Strict security arrangements were made while a public holiday has been declared across the country.

Karachi

The main procession for the 9th of Muharram in Karachi departed from Nishtar Park at 1:30pm. A central gathering was held at Nishtar Park after 12pm,and the procession commenced after the gathering.

Strict security arrangements were put in place for the procession. Over 4,200 police personnel were deployed for security.

In addition, Rangers personnel assisted police in maintaining security. Markets along the procession route were closed, and sharpshooters were deployed on high-rise buildings.

Mobile phone service remained suspended along the procession route in the city. Pillion riding on motorcycles has been banned during Ashura.

Lahore

Lahore provided security for 378 gatherings and 79 mourning processions. Over 11,000 personnel were on duty for security.

21 SPs, 18 SDPOs, and 46 SHOs were deployed. Participants were provided with three-tier security.

Security was ensured through modern equipment, including walk-through gates and metal detectors. Lady police officers were deployed for the security of female mourners.

Dolphin Squad, PRU, and Elite Force teams patrolled the routes.

Peshawar

The first mourning procession for Muharram departed from Imam Bargah Hussainia Hall, Saddar, at 10am while the second procession departed from Imam Bargah Bibi Sahiba at 3pm.

Over 14,000 security personnel were deployed. There were 16 Alam processions from different Imam Bargahs in Peshawar, for which Peshawar Saddar and the inner city were sealed off. Mobile service was suspended in the procession areas.

Police checkpoints were set up at the city’s entry and exit points and CCTV cameras were monitoring the situation from the control room.

Sindh

In Dadu, 62 gatherings and 55 mourning processions were held. According to the SSP, foolproof security arrangements were made throughout the district. Two mourning processions were classified as “highly sensitive while 16 were categorised as sensitive.”