ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Wednesday lambasted Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah for “intentionally” skipping its meeting which was supposed to discuss lapses in security arrangements for former prime minister Imran Khan.
The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, which was held here with Senator Mohsin Aziz in the chair, regretted that both the minister and the secretary interior – Yousaf Naseem Khokhar – willfully skipped the meeting as they had been intimated well in time.
Aziz directed Inspector General Police (IGP) Islamabad Dr Nasir Akber for the reassessment of security threats to the PTI chief, Imran Khan, besides restoring the license of the security company performing security duty at Bani Gala residence of the PTI chief.
“You must reassess the threat level to the life of PTI chairman as the world knows the former prime minister is facing serious life threats,” he told IGP Islamabad.
The IGP said that he was aware of the threat level to the former prime minister due to which the police escort him even if he goes to get bail at the local courts.
The committee chairman also questioned the revocation of the license of a private security company – performing security duty at the residence of the PTI chief – and withdrawing Gilgit-Baltistan Police deputed for security at his Bani Gala residence.
The IGP Islamabad said that 266 personnel of Frontier Constabulary, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, GB Police, and Rangers have been deployed for the security of the ex-premier. He said that the security to the PTI chief costs Rs24 crore which also includes the salaries of the personnel.
The IGP Islamabad said the license of the private security company which had revoked due to some minor mistake had also been restored.
This prompted Senator Kamil Ali Agha, a member of the committee, to question what the police had to say about 2,200 policemen deployed for the security of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif which cost Rs4.5 billion to the national kitty. However, the IGP had nothing to say about the question put to him by Senator Agha and instead said there would not be more than five policemen for the security of three former prime ministers who included Yousaf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Senator Agha said that the police are committing the same blunder which it did by compromising the security to late premier Benazir Bhutto, adding the same blunder is being done in case of Imran Khan as who will be responsible if there is a security lapse. He said that the committee was supposed to discuss the security to the former Prime Minister Imran Khan but the interior minister and the secretary interior skipped the meeting willfully which shows they do not take the issue seriously.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.