Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday directed commissioners, regional police officers (RPOs), deputy commissioners (DCs), district police officers (DPOs) and assistant commissioners to remain present in the field and personally supervise arrangements for Muharram-ul-Haram across the province.
Chairing a high-level meeting to review Muharram arrangements, the chief minister called for the best possible administrative, security and public facilitation measures and appealed to citizens to help maintain peace and order in Punjab. She also directed the administration to set up stalls providing cold drinking water along procession routes.
CM Punjab paid tribute to all departments for their performance during Eidul Azha and praised the coordination among government institutions. She commended ministers, officers and officials for their dedication and hard work, saying the Home Department, intelligence agencies, police, Special Branch, CCD and Information Department had delivered outstanding performance. She also appreciated commissioners, deputy commissioners and RPOs across Punjab.
She said the province witnessed exemplary cleanliness arrangements during Eidul Azha and that government departments had demonstrated practical performance rather than making empty claims. “A new benchmark has been set for public service and protection,” she said, while particularly appreciating the home minister, home secretary, local government minister and their teams.
The chief minister directed that Muharram arrangements this year should surpass those of previous years in terms of facilities, management and security. She said special security measures were necessary in sensitive areas and ordered CCTV monitoring of every majlis and procession across Punjab.
Referring to the ongoing regional situation, CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz said public sentiments had been hurt by Israeli attacks on Iran and that Muslims around the world were distressed by the suffering in Iran. In such circumstances, she added, adopting an unnecessarily harsh attitude would not be appropriate.
She stressed the need to distinguish between ordinary citizens and criminals, saying criminals should not be given any leniency but respectful treatment of law-abiding citizens remained the government’s responsibility. She said people belonging to all faiths and sects must be treated with dignity and respect, while the concerns of participants in religious gatherings and processions should be heard and addressed.
The chief minister said a three-tier security system had been established and directed that checking and monitoring be strengthened. Referring to last year’s Islamabad incident, she said multi-layered security arrangements were essential.
She instructed all DPOs and RPOs to ensure that field police personnel receive training to identify suicide bombers, including recognition of suspicious indicators such as heavy clothing and other warning signs. She directed field formations to remain fully prepared for any alarming or high-alert situation.
CM Punjab appreciated Safe City authorities for introducing QR-coded panic buttons and directed officials to ensure that participants in processions and religious gatherings download the QR code system. She said activating the panic button during an emergency would immediately trigger the emergency response mechanism.
She said all mosques of different sects were registered with the Punjab government and appealed to religious leaders to help observe Muharram peacefully and with mutual respect. Citizens were urged to immediately report any suspicious individual or activity to the police.
The chief minister directed that Civil Defence personnel remain integrated with field formations and said mock security exercises would also be conducted ahead of Ashura. She ordered strict implementation of all security standard operating procedures (SOPs) and directed district control rooms to remain fully equipped to handle any situation.
She noted that drone operations remained prohibited, although police and administrative authorities were authorised to use drones for security purposes. She called for the maximum use of technology in security operations and said Safe City surveillance covered around 80 to 90 per cent of urban areas. In locations lacking coverage, private cameras should be linked to the Safe City system, she added.
CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz ordered strict enforcement of the ban on unauthorised use of loudspeakers and directed authorities to continue combing operations. She emphasised the importance of intelligence-sharing and coordination among relevant departments.
Highlighting the severe heatwave affecting Punjab, she instructed authorities to make comprehensive arrangements for public welfare, including deployment of Rescue 1122 teams, firefighting equipment and emergency response resources. She also directed strict monitoring of hotels and inns located along Muharram routes.
The chief minister ordered that open manholes, stray dogs and other hazards be removed from procession routes and directed authorities to keep a close watch on individuals spreading hate material or attempting to incite unrest.
She stressed the need for effective traffic management to minimise inconvenience to the public and instructed Suthra Punjab teams to ensure cleanliness, water sprinkling and fragrance arrangements along procession routes.
CM Punjab directed that mourners and participants in religious gatherings should feel that the government stood with them. She ordered the installation of standardised cold water and beverage stalls across Punjab and directed authorities to sprinkle water on routes to provide relief from the intense heat.
She further instructed officials to install signboards for route identification, remove construction material and all other obstructions from procession routes, and ensure that open manholes and sewerage hazards were covered immediately.
Warning assistant commissioners and other officials against negligence, she said no open manhole should remain visible anywhere on Muharram routes. She added that inspections would soon be carried out to verify compliance with previous instructions regarding protective netting inside manholes.
The chief minister also directed that Rescue 1122 services, Clinics on Wheels and field hospitals be deployed along procession routes to provide immediate medical assistance to mourners and participants.