Over Rs1.35b spent on dealing with protests in Islamabad, says Interior Ministry

ISLAMABAD: According to the details submitted by the Ministry of Interior to the National Assembly, the cost of dealing with protests in the federal capital has cost the national exchequer over Rs 1.35 billion in the last five years.

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The Interior Ministry submitted details of the expenditure related to preventing protests in Islamabad, which show that Rs 1 billion and 355.8 million have been spent to deal with the protests declared in the Red Zone in the last half a decade.

Further breakdown shows that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20, Rs 157,761,000 was spent to prevent protests in Islamabad. Protests in Islamabad in FY2020-21 cost Rs 96,135,000; in FY2021-22 dealing with the protests cost Rs 277,948,000; in FY2022-23 Rs 724,031,000 was spent to prevent protests in Islamabad.

The outgoing FY2023-24 saw expenses of Rs 100 million in controlling protests in the federal capital.

Further breakdown of these costs show the amounts spend on the armed forces, Frontier Constabulary (FC), Rangers and Police for duties on check posts, barracks and other posts of duty. The details also include the spent on increased VIP security due to deteriorated security situation.

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The submitted documents also show the cost of food provided to the deployed officers, as well as the supplies needed for disbursement of the protestors, such as teargas shells.