ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: It will be a holiday in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on March 1 while on February 28, educational institutions and offices will be closed after 1 pm as per security plan issued on Monday for the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit.
The 13th ECO Summit will be held in Islamabad on March 1 in which Heads of State/Heads of Government will participate.
In order to ensure foolproof security for Heads of state and government, and their accompanying delegations, the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday presided over a meeting of administration and high level police officials of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
During the meeting, the interior minister approved the security plan for the ECO summit, and on his instructions, for the convenience of residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad it will be a local holiday in the Twin Cities on March 1 while educational institutions and offices will be closed after 1 pm on February 28.
The meeting also approved a traffic plan for the Twin Cities during the ECO Summit, according to which from February 28 till night of March 1, Kashmir highway will remain closed from Zero Point to Serena square for ordinary traffic.
These steps will be taken to ensure security, uninterrupted flow of traffic and for saving citizens from any hardship.
The traffic coming from Murree and Kashmir will gain access to Kashmir Highway and Zero Point through Faizabad via Convention Centre.
Similarly, the traffic coming from Golra will be turned from Zero Point to Faizabad.
The interior ministry appealed to the residents of Twin Cities for cooperation in view of the significance of ECO meeting.
Besides ensuring security of VIPs and smooth flow of traffic on alternative routes, it should also be ensured that the citizens face the least inconvenience, he directed.
The minister said that the security of ECO summit was not only an administrative issue but also a matter of image of Pakistan.
