Protests by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party cost Pakistan’s economy 2 billion rupees

Pakistan’s struggling economy has been hit hard, with protests by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party costing more than 2 billion Pakistani rupees, Geo reports. The news reported.
Over the past 18 months, PTI’s management of protests and sit-ins has drained the state exchequer of Rs 2.7 billion, according to official data, and the intensification of demonstrations across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has drained Rs 2.7 billion from the national treasury over the past 18 months. It was revealed that Rs 1.2 billion was spent in the month alone. and Islamabad.
This economic damage includes damage to public and private property of Rs 1.5 billion. Among the losses are Safe City cameras worth Rs 280 million destroyed in Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi. In addition, 220 police vehicles were destroyed during the protests, further exacerbating the financial burden.
The wave of protests began on May 9 last year and has continued unabated, with the latest “do-or-die” demonstration held this Sunday. More than 34,000 security personnel were deployed in Rawalpindi and Islamabad for the event, at an estimated cumulative cost of 300 million Pakistani rupees.
Security forces incurred significant expenditures to maintain law and order during these demonstrations. Transporting personnel cost more than Rs 900 million and another Rs 1.5 billion was spent on catering and logistics for the police. Deployment of Frontier Corps (FC), Rangers and Army personnel added 300 million Pakistani rupees to the bill. Authorities rented 3,000 containers at a total cost of 800 million Pakistani rupees to suppress the protests.
Clashes between PTI supporters and security forces claimed the lives of four security personnel and left over 220 injured.
Imran Khan, the imprisoned PTI founder, remains a key figure in the protests despite having been in jail for more than a year and facing more than 150 criminal cases. PTI claims these incidents are politically motivated.
The Associated Press reported that Pakistani police arrested thousands of Imran Khan supporters, closed major roads and highways connecting Islamabad to PTI strongholds, and blockaded Islamabad with shipping containers. Adding to the chaos, the government suspended mobile and internet services in areas deemed to be a security risk.

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