ISLAMABAD: The capital police have withdrawn security protocol given to the cabinet members except for the federal interior minister and two advisers to the prime minister, sources told Dawn on Friday.

According to the Blue Book, ministers are VIPs and entitled to the police guards and squads as per their portfolio.

Besides, special advisers and assistants to the prime minister are given the status of minister.

Police officers told Dawn on condition of anonymity that on the recommendation of the threats assessment committee, the police guards were still deployed with Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, ex-special assistant to PM on overseas Pakistani and human resources development Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari and Special Assistant to PM for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill.

Two police guards are deployed with Mr Bukhari, and two with Mr Gill, they said, adding a dozen police guards and a police mobile were deployed with Sheikh Rashid.

The police guards were withdrawn from 20 federal ministers, 10 advisers and five state ministers, the officers said.

After the Supreme Court verdict, the prime minister and his cabinet have been restored.

However, after the restoration, security protocol recently withdrawn from 35 ministers, advisers and state ministers has not been given back to them, they added.

Three police guards each were withdrawn from ministers for human rights and defence followed by two guards each from ministers for law and justice, foreign affairs, inter-provincial coordination, education, religious affairs, frontier regions, information and broadcasting, maritime affairs, states and frontier regions, privatisation, Kashmir and Gilgit-Balitistan affairs, narcotics control, IT telecom, science and technology and energy and one each from defence production and economic affairs.

Likewise, two police guards each were called back from state ministers of frontier regions, parliamentary affairs, climate change, housing and works and information and broadcasting.

Similarly, four police guards were withdrawn from special advisers to the PM on accountability and interior, two each from parliamentary affairs, finance and revenue and overseas Pakistanis and human resource development.

Two police guards each were also withdrawn from special assistants to the PM on climate change, establishment, national security division and strategic policy planning, social protection and poverty alleviation, reconciliation and harmony in Balochistan and one guard each from the special assistant to the PM on Sindh affairs.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2022