Over 250 personnel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Frontier Constabulary and Pakistan Rangers have been deployed to ensure Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan's security, according to Islamabad IG Akbar Nasir Khan. The police chief told the Senate Standing Committee on Interior that 266 personnel has been tasked with the duty. The IG said a total cost of Rs240 million was being incurred yearly on ensuring the same. Committee Chairman Senator Mohsin Aziz, who is affiliated with the PTI, expressed concern over the absence of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and interior secretary. He said they had elected to skip the meeting despite being urged to attend. Aziz said Imran was a leader of a global stature. He said his stance on Islamophobia was appreciated by all and sundry. He said the PTI chairman's views on Islam were appreciated by everybody the world over. Aziz said Imran had the courage to say "Absolutely Not" to the United States. He said Imran aspired to be a partner in peace and not war. He said the West did not appreciate such stances. Aziz questioned the revocation of two private security companies tasked with ensure Imran's security. He said there was a danger to the PTI chairman's life, according to law enforcement agencies. Compromising his security in such a scenario was both illegal and inappropriate, he said. He directed the IG to conduct a threat assessment on this account. Aziz also sought the PTI chief's security to be beefed-up. The committee chairman also demanded the licenses of the two companies be restored. Senator Shehzad Waseem, another PTI member, said the martyrdom of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was a profound tragedy. We have a federal leader in the shape of Imran Khan, he said. The loss of a leader is the loss of a nation, the senator said. Senator Kamil Ali Agha, who is also affiliated with the PTI, said the matter of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's security was sensitive and merited serious consideration. He brought attention to the interior minister's absence from the meeting while claims were being made about the PTI chief's security having been downgraded.