RAWALPINDI, March 25: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani refused to be provided with a VVIP squad Monday evening for not being under the oath of the office, it is learnt.

A senior police official told Dawn that soon after the National Assembly elected the country’s new premier, the government offered Mr Gilani the high-profile security protocol, which the prime minister declined till Tuesday, the day he was to take the oath.

However, security for Yusuf Raza Gilani had already been enhanced after his nomination as a prime ministerial candidate. With police deployment outside his residence, three police cars and a vehicle fitted with jamming devices were made available for security cover during his movement.—Staff Reporter