Pakistan’s struggling economy has taken a significant hit, with protests by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party incurring costs exceeding PKR 2 billion, Geo News reported.
Official data reveals that over the past 18 months, managing PTI’s protests and sit-ins has drained PKR 2.7 billion from government coffers, with PKR 1.2 billion spent in just the last six months due to intensified demonstrations across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Islamabad.
The financial toll includes PKR 1.5 billion in damages to public and private property. Among the losses are Safe City cameras worth PKR 280 million vandalized in Islamabad, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. Additionally, 220 police vehicles were destroyed during protests, compounding the financial strain.
The wave of protests began on May 9 last year and continues unabated, with the most recent “do-or-die” demonstration held this Sunday. The event, which saw over 34,000 security personnel deployed in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, added an estimated PKR 300 million to the cumulative expenses.
To maintain law and order during these demonstrations, security forces incurred significant expenditures. Transporting personnel cost over PKR 900 million, while catering and logistics for police accounted for another PKR 1.5 billion. The deployment of Frontier Corps (FC), Rangers, and army personnel added PKR 300 million to the bill. In total, authorities rented 3,000 containers at a cost of PKR 800 million to control the protests.
Clashes between PTI supporters and security forces have claimed the lives of four security personnel and injured over 220.
Imran Khan, PTI’s imprisoned founder, remains a central figure in the protests despite being behind bars for over a year and facing more than 150 criminal cases. PTI claims these cases are politically motivated.
Pakistani police arrested thousands of Imran Khan supporters and sealed off Islamabad with shipping containers along with closing major roads and highways linking the city to PTI strongholds, according to an AP report. Adding to the disruptions, the government suspended mobile and internet services in areas deemed security risks.