Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has given the United States Secret Service a reason to worry after he expressed interest in staying at the Pakistan ambassador's residence instead of an expensive hotel, which is usually the protocol during his official visit to Washington.
One of the reasons behind Khan's interest to stay at Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan's residence is to reduce the cost of the trip. This decision was made to save money for the already cash-strapped country.
The Pakistan premiere is set to visit the US later this month and his security detail will be taken over by the US Secret Service. This is the protocol with any dignitary visiting the country, reports IANS.
Officials in Islamabad have reportedly informed the Pakistan embassy regarding the PM's plans. However, the secret service and the city administration are not happy about the developments since this could cause complications in the movement of traffic during the three-day visit.
While the Secret Service is in charge of the PM's security, the city administration is in charge of his movements in order to have the least disruptions during his movements.
If Prime Minister Khan stays at the Ambassador's official residence, he will be in the vicinity of other countries' ambassadors, including India, Turkey, and Japan. The route of his commute is expected to cross the official residence of the US Vice President as well as members of President Trump's family.
The report states that shutting down the roads for Khan's convoy could cause a lot of traffic problems, which comes under the city administrator's jurisdiction.
Due to these complications, the US Secret Service wants Khan to stay at hotels which have provisions for VVIP guests and they can protect him with least disruptions.
However, Khan wants to show this as a sign of austerity after the International Monetary Fund approved a $6 billion bailout plan for Pakistan over a period of three years.
