The Pakistan government’s security costs are set to go up after jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party announced it would postpone its planned protest in the capital from Sunday (September 26, 2026) to October 4.
Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced a long march to Islamabad on September 27, primarily demanding the release of the party founder.
The 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been incarcerated since 2023, when he was arrested after conviction in a corruption case. Currently, he is lodged at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
To curb the protest march, the federal government brought hundreds of shipping containers to block roads and reinforce security forces.
However, the PTI turned the tables by delaying its protest until October 4, meaning that the federal government would have to remain alert for another week before the protest begins.
Citing police sources, the Dawn newspaper reported that the amount requested by the capital police for security arrangements to counter the PTI’s protest would effectively double and would likely cost the exchequer more than PKR 1 billion.
Following the PTI’s first announcement to launch a protest on September 27, the capital police, like their counterparts in Punjab, began preparations and requested PKR 820 million to cover the rent of shipping containers, accommodation and meals for the police personnel arriving from Punjab and Sindh.
The amount was intended to cover one week, as the police expected the protest and long march to disperse by October 4. However, with the protest and long march postponed for a week, the expenses are also expected to increase.
All Pakistan Goods Alliance Chairman Nisar Hussain Jaffri said the alliance had initially demanded a daily rent of PKR 40,000 and PKR 20,000 for 40-foot and 20-foot containers, respectively. Later, he said, the demand was revised to PKR 30,000 per container for both sizes.
After the PTI postponed the long march, the police were asked about the containers, he said, adding that the authorities had so far not decided whether to release or retain them in their custody.
The sources said that according to the demand, the daily rent for 1,550 containers comes to PKR 46.5 million, while the rent for one week is PKR 325.5 million and for two weeks PKR 651 million.
The sources said the police had also requested a contingent of 16,000 personnel from the Punjab Police and 2,000 from the Sindh Police. So far, the Sindh Police contingent has reached the capital.
Three meals a day are being provided to the visiting personnel. The cost of three meals per person is PKR 600, meaning PKR 1.2 million is being spent each day to feed the 2,000 Sindh Police personnel. The cost of meals for one week is PKR 8.4 million and for two weeks PKR 16.8 million.
Surprisingly, the requested Punjab Police contingent is yet to reach Islamabad. The sources said the 16,000-member contingent was scheduled to reach the capital by the evening of September 25, as the deployment plan was to take effect from the evening of September 26.
However, no Punjab Police official had arrived in Islamabad by Friday (September 25, 2026) evening, they added.
About 70 coasters, 30 double-cabin vehicles and buses were also arranged to transport the police force between their places of accommodation and designated duty points. The daily rent of a coaster is PKR 15,000, bringing the daily cost of 70 coasters to PKR 1.05 million. The daily rent of a double-cabin vehicle is PKR 10,000, while the 30 vehicles cost PKR 3,00,000 per day.
The police also booked 175 rooms in 13 hotels in different sectors for 246 inspectors, 58 deputy and assistant superintendents of police, superintendents of police, 10 senior superintendents of police and eight deputy inspectors general of police.
Of the 13 hotels, 157 rooms in 11 hotels were booked for officers from the ranks of inspector to SP. The daily rent for these rooms is PKR 754,500, and rent for one week will be PKR 5.2815 million.
Although the Punjab Police contingent has yet to arrive in the capital, its three-meal daily food bill is estimated at PKR 9.6 million. The cost would rise to PKR 67.2 million for one week.
The rent of the buses arranged to transport the police force, as well as the rent of 18 rooms at two hotels booked for DIGs and SSPs, was not known.
Meanwhile, All Pakistan Goods Alliance Chairman Nisar Hussain said the police in Islamabad and Punjab had taken into custody at least 2,700 vehicles along with their three-member crews.
Of the total, about 400 vehicles and their crews were still missing, while the crews of the remaining vehicles were being kept at police stations.
He clarified that the police had not formally arrested the drivers and other crew members but had stopped them from leaving the police stations except for meals. The police had also confiscated their mobile phones, vehicle documents and keys.
The sources said the crews would remain at the police stations until a decision was made on releasing the containers. They were being kept there to drive and move the vehicles, as special skills were required to operate the large container trucks.
The containers and vehicles were seized, and their crew members were detained in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Jhang, Hasanabdal, Attock, Kamoke, Taxila, Jhelum, Mianwali, Chakwal, Faisalabad and Gujrat. Of the 2,700 vehicles, 450 were carrying goods, including medicines, food items and chemicals, according to the Dawn newspaper.
The PTI in order to keep pressure on the government is keeping its options open and it is possible that it may further extend the date of protest, which could make it impossible for the government to maintain the high level of security.
Pakistani authorities on Wednesday banned public gatherings in Islamabad for two months ahead of the march.
The Islamabad administration said that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code had been imposed, prohibiting gatherings of five or more people, processions, rallies and demonstrations across the federal capital, including the high-security Red Zone.
