Security has been beefed up in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi with the deployment of more than 10,000 police personnel as the second round of talks between the US and Iran are expected to be held in Islamabad, local media reported on Sunday.
A police spokesperson said over 10,000 officers and personnel of the Rawalpindi police were performing security duties, while more than 600 special pickets were monitoring the city’s entry and exit points. Furthermore, additional security personnel have been deployed on highways, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
As many as 400 elite commandos, including 100 snipers, will be part of the security during the arrival and departure of the foreign dignitaries. According to the sources, deployment of security personnel began at midnight on April 18, as foreign dignitaries will arrive at the Nur Khan Base, Chaklala, before travelling to Islamabad.
Over 3,600 police personnel will be posted in the first shift, starting from midnight to 12 on Sunday and an additional 3,500 in the second shift. All link roads and streets will remain shut from Chohan Chowk to Koral Chowk, while the Special Branch will carry out a search and sweep in the area.
On Saturday, police released a security plan stating that security had been put on high alert after the orders issued by City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Mahmood Hamdani, Dawn reported.
Quick Response Unit teams have been put on alert patrol, while the security checking system has been put in place in Rawalpindi. The CPO said that round-the-clock monitoring in Rawalpindi will be conducted through safe city cameras and modern technology, with officers concerned checking situation reports from the control room.
Meanwhile, Iran has indicated that there has been “progress” in its ongoing discussions with the United States, though it stressed that a final agreement is still a long way off, with the current two-week ceasefire due to expire on April 22, according to local media reports on Sunday.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a televised address on Saturday (local time) that significant differences continue to persist between the two sides.
“There are many gaps and some fundamental points remain,” Ghalibaf said, underlining that negotiations have yet to reach a decisive stage.
“We are still far from the final discussion,” he added, signalling that while dialogue is ongoing, a comprehensive settlement has not yet been achieved.
Ghalibaf also asserted that Iran had maintained an upper hand during the recent weeks of conflict and suggested that Tehran agreed to the temporary ceasefire only after its conditions were acknowledged by Washington.
“If we accepted the ceasefire, it was because they accepted our demands,” he said, referring to the United States.
Emphasising Iran’s strategic position, he said the US had failed to accomplish its objectives, while Iran continued to exercise control over the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route for global energy supplies.
“The enemy’s every effort was to impose its demands on us, and it is important that we register our rights, so this is where negotiation is a method of struggle,” Ghalibaf said.
