Security arrangements for Pakistan Day parade finalised

City police and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration have further tightened security in the capital and decided to close seminaries, restaurants and guesthouses located within the five kilometres radius of the Parade ground as part of security arrangements for Pakistan Day parade to be held on March 23.
Police officials said that areas adjacent to Parade ground would be put on high alert from March 21 to 23, and seminaries, guesthouses and restaurants located within the five kilometres radius of the venue would be closed ahead of the parade. They said that personnel of Police, Rangers and Army (111-brigade) would jointly perform security duties on the occasion of Pakistan Day parade. Over 5,000 personnel of Islamabad Police and Rangers will perform security duties in the adjacent areas of Parade ground, besides the Army men will be deployed in the inner cordon, they added.
They said that ICT Administration has also imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Islamabad. The Section 144 prohibits public gatherings of five or more persons, rallies and demonstrations within Islamabad. The administration also imposed a ban on display of weapons, firework, wall chalking, kite-flying and usage of loudspeakers.
The officials said that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) would install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and also conduct aerial surveillance of the city on the occasion. The city police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have started combing the forest areas as well as checking of guesthouses in the city, they added.
They said that officials of district administration have asked the management of seminaries, restaurants, guesthouses, hotels, marriage halls, and kiosks falling within the vicinity of Parade ground to close and vacate the premises in the third week of this month. The administration has also asked the contractors to stop construction work on under-construction buildings in the area, they added.
They said that high-ups of police have issued directives for effective patrolling as well as checking at the entry and exit points of the city. They also issued directives to police for maintaining close co-ordination among all wings of police as well as ordered to conduct effective combing operations in slum areas. The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) will also chalk out a special plan to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the occasion of Pakistan Day.