All the roads leading to the venue of the processions were heavily guarded and people from other sects were not allowed to visit the procession. The shops on the routes of the procession remained closed all the day. The participation of the mourners was less in the procession as compared to last year due to cold weather and the fear that some extremist groups might strike like the past year when several people were killed and injured due to firing on a similar procession in Quetta.
The news that two Lashkar-e-Janghvi activists blew themselves up on Friday when the police tried to arrest them when they were planning for a suicide attack on the Muharram procession.
Before start of the procession, a contingent of police went around the routes of the procession and checked the security situation. Later, the squad remained alert to help in averting any eventuality.
NWFP IGP Riffat Pasha and Capital City Police chief Habib-ur-Rahman visited venue of the procession and reviewed the security arrangements.
The main procession of Zuljinnah and Taazia was brought out from Imambargah Hussainia Hall on Saddar Road.
Earlier, addressing the mourners, Shia scholars highlighted the incident of Karbala and said that mourners would continue to condemn the sad event till the end of the world.
The procession started from the Hussania Hall and passed through the Fakhr-e-Alam Road, Tipu Sultan Road and Kalabari and culminated at the Imambargah from where it was started. Men, women, children and Afghan refugees were amongst the mourners.
On the Ashura day (Sunday), Taazia and Zuljinnah processions will be brought out from various Imambargahs in the city. The biggest procession will be brought out from Imambargah Kocha Agha Syed Ali Shah at Chari Koban at 10 am and another from Imambargah Agha Syed Alam Shah at Kochi Bazar at 2 pm. In the afternoon, processions would be taken out at Haji Rehman Malik Imambargah at Mohallah Marvi, Kohati Gate, Imambargah
of Tehkhana Gulbacha Jee, Imambargah Haider Shah near Jehangirpura and Imambargah Agha Syed Mir Fazal Shah at Mohallah Khudadad at Qissakhwani.
NWFP Chief Secretary Ijaz Ahmed Qureshi and IGP Muhammad Raffat Pasha on Friday night visited various Imambargahs at Peshawar city and Cantonment Area as well as Police Command Post at Kohati Gate where they reviewed security arrangements for peaceful observance of Muharram.
Nazim Town Council-I Haroon Bilour, Chief Capital Police chief Muhammad Habib-ur-Rehman, SSP Abid Ali and other high-ranking police officers accompanied them on this occasion.