Tight security in place for Rouhani's India visit

HYDERABAD: Tight security arrangements have been put in place with about 1,500 police officers deployed as part of the security arrangements for Iranian President Dr Hassan Rouhani's visit to the city on Thursday and Friday.

Mr Rouhani's visit comes a month after the Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited India, indicating New Delhi's delicate balancing act. The president's first stop will be in Hyderabad where he will visit the Salar Jung Museum, Golconda Fort and Qutb Shahi Tomb. He will also address students and religious scholars at a series of functions in the city.

However highlight of his visit to the city will be his address at the historic Makkah Masjid.

Rouhani will be the first head of a state to address a congregation at the 17th century mosque, one of the biggest in India. After offering the prayers along with ministers and top officials accompanying him, he will address the gathering in the sprawling courtyard of the mosque, which can accommodate about 10,000 worshippers.

The agencies in coordination with the Hyderabad police were making fool-proof arrangements at the Makkah Masjid, scene of a bomb blast in 2007.

Authorities may not restrict the entry of worshippers into the mosque but additional security measures will be in place. A large number of people of Iranian lineage living in Hyderabad are expected to turn up to hear Rouhani. 

The foundation for Makkah Masjid was in late in 1616 by Qutub Shahi ruler Sultan Mohammad but it was completed during Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's reign in 1694.

Security had been tightened at Makkah Masjid since May 18, 2007 when a bomb blast during Friday prayers had killed five people and injured scores of others. Following this incident, CCTV cameras and metal detectors were installed in the premises.

The Iranian President will land at Hyderabad Airport on Thursday evening. Union Power Minister R. K. Singh will receive him on behalf of the Indian Government.

Dr Rouhani will be staying at a hotel in Banjara Hills. He is expected to address a meeting of 'ulema' or religious scholars of various sects, academicians and other eminent people the same day.

The next day he will visit Makkah Masjid and Salarjung Museum, famous for the world's largest one man collection of artefacts.

Rouhani is also likely to visit Qutub Shahi Tombs, the mausoleums of Qutub Shahi rulers, who had Iranian lineage.

"A hassle-free route has been identified for the convoy of the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani," said V. Satyanarayana, the DCP of the South Zone.

Teams from the Rapid Action Force, the Greyhounds and the Octopus will be part of the security arrangements.

On Tuesday, officials of the Iranian security agencies and the local police visited and inspected the various places that Dr Rouhani is scheduled to visit.

After two-day stay here, Iranian President will leave for New Delhi, where he will be given an official welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi sit down for bilateral talks. Mr. Rouhani is expected to return to Tehran the same evening, after delivering a special address at Observer Research Foundation, a foreign policy think-tank.

Rouhani's visit to India is in response to a visit to Tehran by Prime Minister Modi back in May 2016.

The external affairs ministry said earlier that during the visit of the president of Iran, both sides would review the progress achieved in bilateral relations and also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.