PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Home and Tribal Affairs Department has declared 82 churches in the province ‘sensitive’ a day before the Christmas celebrations on 25 December.
The police have been directed to ensure full-fledged security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident. The police had earlier decided the deployment 2500 police staff to monitor churches in the province. The police added that walk-through security gates and CCTV cameras have also been installed at all churches. The intelligence agencies personnel will continue monitoring churches.
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The Christian community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is all set to celebrate the religious festival Christmas with full devotion and respect. Special ceremonies will be held in churches to mark this day. Special prayers will offered for the of peace and elimination of prejudice from the country during the special Christmas service. The Christmas festivities will begin with the Midnight Service. They will exchange gifts. Among these gifts, Christmas cake has a special significance. The festivity will continue until the New Year.
A special security plan has been issued by the office of CCPO Abbas Ahsan under which more than one and a half thousand police personnel and officers will perform security duties. According to the plan, Bomb Disposal Unit and sniffer dog teams will also be deployed at all the churches. City Patrol, Ladies Police and Ababeel Squad have also been assigned special responsibilities to monitor religious ceremonies through drone cameras, as well as all entrances and exits to the city.