• LEAs close off road leading from Star Gate to Jinnah Terminal.
• Traffic being diverted from Model Colony to Sharea Faisal: police.
• New measures taken due to security concerns, say officials.
  

KARACHI: Weeks after two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide attack near the Karachi airport, authorities have beefed up security measures around the airport provisioning closure of roads which has essentially resulted in nuisance for the commuters.

Police officials said that security has been tightened around the airport, with checkpoints set up along routes from Star Gate and Pehlwan Goth to Jinnah Terminal.

Additionally, the road from Model Colony to Jinnah Terminal has been closed, with traffic now diverted to Sharea Faisal.

The development came a day after Geo News reported that the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) is set to introduce stricter entry requirements as part of measures to ramp up security at the airport of the country’s mega city.

The move comes in the backdrop of last month’s suicide attack which killed a total of three people, including two Chinese engineers, and injured at least 16 others.

New regulations mandate that anyone showing up at the airport to receive or see off passengers must present a copy of the traveller’s ticket at security checkpoints, said sources.

Under the new directives from the PAA, airport entry will be granted to a maximum of four individuals accompanying each passenger, the sources said, adding that entry will be denied without a ticket copy.

Additionally, those arriving to receive passengers must carry their national identity cards, which will be required for verification at security checkpoints while entering the airport’s premises.

Meanwhile, the road closures has not only affected the traffic flow on the Model Colony road, but is also causing problems for airlines staff, passengers, and employees in reaching the airport.

A day earlier, Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar announced the arrest of the airport attack’s mastermind along with two other facilitators, including a woman.

Speaking at a press conference, the minister said that Javed alias Sami was the mastermind behind the deadly explosion and was apprehended along with woman facilitator Gul Nisa from RCD highway which connects Karachi to Quetta.