ISLAMABAD: The government has temporarily withdrawn additional security personnel deployed at the Bani Gala residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan as he is currently not living there.

A senior official of the Ministry of Interior said that threat to the life of the former premier still exists; therefore the security detail deputed for his protection has not been withdrawn.

“The interior ministry has only withdrawn the additional security deployed at his residence as currently no one is living there,” he said.

On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the government had on May 14 provided foolproof security to Mr Khan, he said. The security detail was provided to the PTI chief in view of the recommendations made by a threat assessment committee of the ministry.

The official said that under the security arrangements made, 94 security personnel, including those from the Islamabad police and Frontier Corps, were deployed at Khan’s residence.

In addition, 36 personnel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and six from Gilgit-Baltistan police had been deployed by their respective governments for the former premier’s security. As many as 35 personnel of two private security companies were also deployed at the residence.

In a message posted at Twitter, PTI leader Shahbaz Gill said the police security given to the former prime minister had been withdrawn. “All personnel of Islamabad police were withdrawn on Thursday evening,” he said.

He lamented that “convicted” politician Maryam Nawaz was being given security detail reserved normally for a prime minister while security had been withdrawn in the case of Imran Khan. “These are cheap tactics of the ‘imported’ government,” Gill alleged.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022