Passing through its traditional routes amid heavy contingents of law enforcers, the main Ashura procession concluded peacefully on Tuesday, despite a minor blast near the Kala Pul that injured at least three people.
Earlier, thousands of mourners from different areas of the metropolis gathered at the Numaish Chowrangi to participate in the main procession taken out from the Nishter Park, where addressed the mourners Maulana Shehenshah Hussain Naqvi shed light on the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (RA) and his companions at Karbala.
Foolproof security measures were made by law enforcement agencies along the entire route of the procession and all roads, streets and lanes leading to the main MA Jinnah Road were closed for traffic and also pedestrians.
Apart from scanning by the walk-through gates, the mourners were only allowed to enter the procession after thorough checking by security officers and volunteers.
After coming out of the Nishter Park, the mourners offered their Zohrain prayers at the Tibet Centre and walked with the procession through Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto Road, Mehfil-e-Shah-e-Khurasan, MA Jinnah Road, Mansfield Street, Preedy Street, Boulton Market, Bombay Bazaar, Kharadar and Nawab Mahabat Khanjee Road, before the procession culminated at the Hussainia Iranian Imambargah in Kharadar.
Leading the mourners were scouts from various volunteer groups and the Bomb Disposal Squad experts, who moving ahead of the procession checked the route for any explosives and declared the safe passage.
Aerial surveillance along the route of the main procession was also carried out by a helicopter
SECURITY MEASURES: More than 10,000 additional policemen were deployed in the metropolis for security of the Ashura procession with three temporary Crisis Management Cells established at Numaish Chowrangi, Mama Parsi School and Kharadar.
At the three centres, SP Headquarter East Shafi Rind, SP Court Police Jamshed Inamullah and Anti-Terrorism Training Centre Principal Colonel Abdul Wahid Khan (retd) were appointed as commanding officers from Nishter Park to Tibet Centre, from Tibet Centre to Denso Hall and from Denso Hall to Hussainia Iranian, respectively.
Overall, around 95 mourning processions were taken out in the city in the East, Centre, Malir and South zones on Muharram 10, while 515 Ashura gatherings (majalis) were also held in various parts of the city.
TWO MINOR BLASTS: Three people were injured in an explosion near the Kala Pul Bridge on Tuesday morning, while earlier on late Monday night, another blast was heard in the Lines Area.
According to police, the Lines Area blast was caused by a “gas cylinder inside an auto-parts shop”. However, a Muharram procession had earlier passed the area just before the blast took place.
The explosion completely gutted the shop but no injuries were reported, though the adjoining wall of another shop also collapsed.
On Tuesday, as the mourners headed along the main procession, the blast near Kala Pul created a brief panic. A while later, everything was normalized after the law enforcers rushed to the scene and controlled the situation.
Speaking with the media, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan said over 100 venues in Karachi, Hyderabad and Khairpur were declared highly-sensitive on Ashura. “The home ministry received threats about possible attacks on Ashura processions and we are taking the threats seriously. All possible measures have been taken to prevent any untoward incidents but the next 24 hours are very crucial,” he told the newsmen.
