ISLAMABAD: The interior ministry has asked the Khyber Pakhtun­khwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments to withdraw security being provided to PTI chairman Imran Khan at his Banigala residence “without any requisition or rules of engagement with no proper command structure”, Dawn has learnt.

The ministry has made the request through a letter written to the KP and GB chief secretaries and inspectors general of police (IGPs).

The letter — issued with the approval of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and signed by a section officer of the ministry — said that under the cabinet’s decision, Islamabad’s threat assessment committee considered Mr Khan’s case at its 18th meeting held on Aug 22 and was informed that police personnel from KP and GB were also deployed at Banigala.

The civil administration called civil armed forces under “a specific process which is in vogue and in the knowledge of all stakeholders”, the letter said, stressing that the armed personnel were deployed at the PTI chief’s residence “without any requisition or rules of engagement with no proper command structure, which could lead to any untoward incident”.

KP police contingent accompanying MPA made to leave Islamabad after capital police warned of legal action

“Therefore, the committee unanimously recommended that the respective command of above-mentioned departments be approached to withdraw the forces from the jurisdiction of the ICT [Islamabad Capital Territory],” it said.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad police intercepted a contingent of the KP police accompanying a provincial lawmaker while heading towards Banigala, a police officer told Dawn.

He said several senior police officials reached the site when the issue was brought to their knowledge. An inquiry revealed that the contingent was being brought to beef up the PTI chairman’s security, he added.

He said the police contingent left Islamabad for Peshawar when the senior police officials warned them of legal action.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2022