The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Dr. Akbar Nasir, briefed the Senate Committee on Interior that providing security to former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan costs the government Rs. 20 million each month.
He also informed the committee that around 266 security personnel have been deployed for the security of the former PM.
The IGP shared these details after Chairman Committee, Mohsin Aziz, took suo moto notice on reports of the withdrawal of the security of the former premier.
Chairman Aziz headed the meeting that was attended by the Minister for Law and Justice, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for State for Law and Justice, Shahadat Awan, Senators Maula Bakhsh Chandio, Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, Faisal Javed, Dr. Waseem Shahzad, Azam Swati, Ejaz Chaudhry, Saifullah Abro, Fauzia Arshad, Kamil Ali Agha, Dilawar Khan, and officials from the Ministry of Interior.
The IGP informed the committee that the Frontier Constabulary (FC), Rangers, Islamabad Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Police, as well as personnel from two private security firms, were handling the former premier’s security under the command of Islamabad Police.
He also revealed that other former PMs, including Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, had been given five security men each. Discussing the importance of their security, IGP Nasir advised against discussing the matter in the media and politicizing it due to its sensitive nature. According to him, their security was being provided as per the law.
The Committee Chairman remarked that the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) had raised security concerns for Khan, which is why withdrawing his security is unlawful and unsuitable. He also inquired about the illegal cancelation of the license of the Private Security Firm that was providing his security and added that Khan’s security personnel from Gilgit-Baltistan had also been withdrawn.
The Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, Captain (retd.) Muhammad Usman, also attended the meeting and stated that the private security company had disregarded the Ministry of Interior’s rules and regulations, and its license had also expired.
Senator Agha remarked that the issue is as serious as that of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s security threat, and revealed that 2,200 security personnel had been provided to former PM Nawaz Sharif whose annual spending was around Rs. 4.5 billion. He also urged the committee to view this issue neutrally.
send this money to flood IDPs
People of Pakistan have been shouting for decades that majority of Police is utilised in VIP protocols and security details. No cabinet, future or past wants to do anything about it. Will Supreme Court take suo moto notice?