Daily Times

A sum of Rs1.3 billion has been spent on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his accompanying delegations’ foreign trips in nine months of the current fiscal year. According to a private news channel, the amount has been spent on travel, food, accommodation, gifts and other expenses in the fiscal 2022-23. A sum of Rs150 million was initially earmarked in the budget for foreign tours. However, the amount was increased by Rs300 million in supplementary budget raising the total to Rs450 million. The prime minister and his delegation spent Rs278 million as travel cost in nine months, whereas Rs1.03 billion has been spent on food and accommodation. Moreover, Rs26 million was spent of gifts and recreation. Apart from this, a sum of Rs840 million was spent on donations, registration fees, Rs2 million on holding seminars, workshops and conferences and Rs598,000 on purchase of newspapers, magazines and books. The total budget allocation in the financial year 2022-23 for foreign tours is Rs2.86 billion.