Pak govt’s security costs set to rise after Imran Khan’s party delays protest march to Oct 4

Islamabad (TIP): he Pakistan government’s security costs are set to go up after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party announced to postpone its planned protest in the capital from Sunday to October 4.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had announced a long march to Islamabad on September 27, primarily demanding the release of the party founder.
The 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been incarcerated since 2023, when he was arrested after conviction in a corruption case. Currently, he is lodged at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. To curb the protest march, the federal government brought hundreds of shipping containers to block roads and reinforce security forces. However, the PTI turned the tables by delaying its protest until October 4, meaning that the federal government would have to remain alert for another week before the protest begins. Citing sources in the police, the Dawn newspaper reported that the amount requested by the capital police for security arrangements to counter the PTI’s protest would effectively double and was likely to cost the exchequer more than PKR 1 billion.