ISLAMABAD: The federal government has reduced protocol of its cabinet members to save billions of rupees and thousands of security officials and vehicles deployed for protocol purposes.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the government to end extraordinary protocol being accorded to federal cabinet members and VIPs and ordered curtailing it to avoid public inconvenience.
According to media reports, the prime minister took the action after a video of the security detail of Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib went viral on social media.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was also concerned about the heavy security protocol of chief ministers and governors. PM Khan had once questioned the security protocol of President Arif Alvi when the latter arrived at the Parliament House and was received by him.
A senior official of the PMO said Prime Minister Khan usually spoke for a few minutes before the start of the federal cabinet meeting, and in the last meeting on Tuesday, he talked about VIP protocol and security being extended to federal ministers.
He quoted the prime minister as saying “the security and protocol of ministers must be curtailed and reassessed according to requirement”.
The prime minister had also announced last Tuesday that he would no longer go to any private function with protocol and security “to save taxpayers’ money and avoid inconvenience to the public”.
