Hundreds of thousands on streets to mourn Karbala tragedy

Ninth of Muharram is being observed with religious fervour as hundreds of thousands of people are participating in the processions being held across the country in urban and rural areas.

On the eve of Ashura [Muharram 10] to be observed tomorrow (Sunday), the faithful are paying to the great sacrifice rendered by Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) who refused to bow before a tyrant only to live forever as a symbol of resistance.

In Lahore, several main processions along with many smaller ones have been planned. Some of these smaller gatherings will later join the main events in their respective areas.

The main processions in the city started from Pandu Street in Islamapura, Qasr-e-Batool Shadman and the imambargah located on Nicholson Road. All the main and secondary processions will pass through their designated routes and culminate after sunset.

On the other hand, the main Muharram 9 procession of Rawalpindi will end with a majlis at Imambargah Col Maqbool after starting from Chittian Hattian.  

It is the Nishtar Park from where the famous procession proceeded towards its culminating point Hussainia Iranian Imambargah in Kharadar after passing through MA Jinnah Road.

On the other hand, hundreds of thousands people have thronged the streets in Sukkur as 500-year-old traditional procession left Imambargah Shah-e-Iraq in Rohri around 4:30am.

Similarly, the main event in Faisalabad is the procession from Markazi Imambargah Azakhana-e-Shabbir.

Meanwhile, the main procession in Dera Ismail Khan left Imambargah Hazrat Imam Hussain Thala Pir Bammu Shah and culminated at Jama Masjid Hazrat Ali around 2pm.

In Quetta, the main procession left Nasir-ul-Azra Imambargah in the afternoon. Strict security measures have been taken with cellular services suspended in the city.

Similar scenes are being witnessed in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Ghotki, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Peshawar, and other towns and cities.

On the other hand, mobile phone service has been suspended in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and all other towns and cities in the country along the routes of Moharram 9 processions for security reasons.

Moreover, all the hospitals of Lahore are on a high alert in connection with Ashura for two days [Muharram 9 and 10] with special duties assigned to doctors, nurses and paramedical staff.

Special security measures have also been taken in the country with control rooms set up in ever district to monitor the situation.

In Karachi, 6,368 police officials have been deployed in the city with snipers posted at main procession routes, according to a police spokesperson. Procession route and surrounding streets and alleys have been cordoned off with containers. Police and Rangers have also been deployed for security while the procession will be monitored through CCTV cameras.

Security has also been beefed up in Peshawar, Multan, Sargodha and Hangu as the cities prepare for 9th Muharram processions.

As many as 43 checkpoints have been set up in Peshawar while security has been upgraded at 64 entry points to the city.