MULTAN: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday defended her use of the provincial government’s aircraft during a recent trip to London, saying she had paid Rs27.5 million from her own pocket for parking and other charges related to the aircraft.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of electric buses in Multan, she said: “There is a lot of criticism these days about the aircraft. I paid Rs27.5 million herself and that the money had not been taken from the public exchequer.”
She displayed footage of what she described as the paid bill on a mobile phone, but said she was not obliged to provide the documents to YouTubers or her detractors, adding that the relevant record would be submitted before the appropriate forum.
Maryam travelled to London earlier this month to attend the graduation ceremony of her daughter Mahnoor Safdar and returned to Lahore on September 9.
Her use of the Punjab government’s Gulfstream G500 for the private family event triggered criticism from opposition politicians and other commentators, who questioned the use of an official aircraft for a personal trip.
The issue was subsequently raised in the Punjab Assembly, where PTI MPA Waqas Mahmood Maan submitted an adjournment motion seeking a debate over the reported expenditure. The motion cited media reports putting the cost of fuel, parking and other related expenses at around Rs12.5 million and sought details of the legal and administrative authority under which the aircraft had been used.
The Punjab government earlier maintained that Maryam personally bore the expenses of the London trip. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said the chief minister had paid all expenses from her own pocket.
Senior Punjab minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also said the government had already made clear that Maryam would bear the cost of the visit.
Maryam said that all four provincial chief ministers had government aircraft and questioned why she was being singled out over its use.
She said the aircraft did not belong to her personally but to the Punjab government.
“Maryam Nawaz’s aircraft does not exist; it belongs to the Punjab government,” she said.
The chief minister said she had travelled to Japan and London on the aircraft and would continue to use it in future.
She said travelling to London on a commercial aircraft would have required her to remain there for another six or seven days.
Maryam also said that whether she was on a personal trip or elsewhere, she continued to perform official duties.
“I am not answerable to any vlogger or YouTuber. I am answerable to the people,” she said.
She said she would not remain chief minister forever and rejected criticism of the aircraft as criticism directed at her personally.
“This criticism is not against Maryam Nawaz; it is criticism of Punjab and Punjab’s development,” she said.
The controversy has also revived scrutiny of the provincial government’s acquisition and use of the Gulfstream G500.
The 19-seat aircraft, manufactured in 2019, has been reported to be worth between $38 million and $42 million, or more than Rs10 billion. The Punjab government had faced questions over the aircraft’s acquisition even before the latest controversy.
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