Pakistan, June 26 -- Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi on Thursday said nearly 16,000 police, Rangers and Army personnel had been deployed under a five-layer security plan to ensure the peaceful conduct of the central 9th Muharram procession in the federal capital.

Talking to media outside Imambargah Asna Ashri in Sector G-6, from where the central 9th Muharram procession commenced, Rizvi said security planning for Muharram-ul-Haram had been underway for the past one and a half months and all arrangements had been finalized well in advance.

He said the security plan had been formulated in line with the directions of the Federal Interior Minister, who ensured the provision of all required resources for the...