Strict security in place as mourners observe Youm-i-Ashur

KARACHI: Strict security arrangements were in place on Tuesday around Imambargahsand routes of mourning processions and other sensitive places across the country for Youm-i-Ashur.

The day was being observed with reverence and religious fervour to pay homage to Hazrat Imam Hussain and his companions for the supreme sacrifices rendered by them.

Tazia, Alam and Zuljinah processions are to be taken out in all cities and towns that will pass through designated routes.

Police pickets were also established on entry and exit points of Islamabad and other main cities in the country where every vehicle was being checked.

Hospitals have been asked to remain on alert to deal with any emergency situation.

Police personnel and Rangers have been deployed on the routes of processions in various cities and towns of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

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US military officials say Pakistan leaving border liaison centres

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centres meant to coordinate military activity across the Afghan border in apparent retaliation for Nato airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, US military officials said.

The move will hamper US efforts to liaise with Pakistani forces, increasing the risk that something could go wrong again, said the officials late Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The US and Pakistan have offered different accounts of what led to the Nato attacks against two army posts along the Afghan border before dawn on November 26, but the deadly incident seems to have been caused in part by communication breakdowns.

The soldiers’ deaths have plunged already strained US-Pakistan relations to an all-time low, threatening Washington’s attempts to get Pakistan to cooperate on the Afghan war.

Pakistan retaliated immediately by closing its Afghan border crossings to Nato supplies, demanding the US vacate an air base used by American drones and boycotting an international conference held Monday in Bonn, Germany, aimed at stabilising Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that Pakistan wanted to repair relations with the United States.

But the military’s decision to abandon the border coordination centres shows it is still outraged over the incident, which it has called deliberate — an allegation denied by the US.

Pakistan may still have troops at the coordination centre in Torkham in the country’s northwest Khyber tribal area, but has pulled out of the other two along the border, said the US officials.

The Pakistani military did not immediately respond to request for comment.

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Posted in: NATIONAL