RAWALPINDI, Feb 10: In the wake of the upcoming general elections as political activities gain momentum, security agencies are seeking “revision” in its security protocol for political leaders (VVIP/VIP). The revision is meant to make security arrangements foolproof, especially during political rallies.

Important to note that the government had issued a security protocol for public meetings, after the assassination attempt on former prime minister Shaukat Aziz in Fateh Jhang, in 2004, during an election campaign.

The then chief secretary had issued the security instructions in 2004 and directed all the commissioners, regional police officers (RPOs) and district police officers (DPOs) across the province to strictly follow the security guidelines to make foolproof security arrangements for VVIP/VIP during public meetings.

Under the security guidelines, the height of the stage (the pulpit where political leaders stood to make their speeches) would be 20 feet, in addition to some other general instructions.

However, the security agencies had been facing problems in maintaining the 20 feet height criterion of the stage, during public meetings, due to the unavailability of equipment at different locations.

In this regard, a letter from the additional inspector general of police Special Branch Punjab, to the provincial government, suggested that the security guidelines passed in 2004 by the then chief secretary should be revised and the minimum height of the stage be fixed to 10 feet, instead of the 20 feet, which was not possible to maintain during public meetings.

The letter also pointed out that the case of the revision of security instructions had already been moved by the authorities concerned in 2011 but despite the passage of more than a year, the reply from the provincial authorities was still awaited.