The administration has put in place tight security measures in and around the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and made elaborate traffic plans to avoid mishaps on the occasion of three-day 771st urs of the saint that begun in Sehwan town. Devotees from various parts of the country have arrived in the small dusty town, many on foot, and took up lodging in tents and local motels. Several parts of the town close to the shrine had been declared a red zone, said Jamshoro SSP Imran Qureshi. He told newsmen that the shrine and the town would be monitored round the clock with the help of 400 CCTV cameras.

30 walkthrough gates had been installed at various entry and exit routes and 4,720 police officials would perform security duties, he said. He said that officials in plainclothes would also be deployed to monitor security situation in the shrine and the town. “5000 police officials have been deployed in the town besides 200 Quick Response Force and Rangers personnel,” he said. Dr Moeenuddin Siddiqi, director of Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, said that 12 medical camps had been established at different places in the town.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP