LAHORE: Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday issued a report of public funds misused by the provincial government claiming that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was spending Rs 1.7 million on himself on daily basis.
Claiming that despite shouting slogans of adoption of simplicity, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) backed Opposition Leader Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said that Punjab CM did not bother to use the public funds in a responsible way, rather purchased a bulletproof vehicle for his own office cum residence with a heavy amount of Rs 21 million during the last financial year.
He said that the three vehicles which were purchased with a heavy amount of Rs 25.5 million for the protocol of provincial ministers were separate from the bullet proof and other six vehicles for the CM House.
While issuing the report to the media on Tuesday, he exposed in the report that some other double-cabin vehicles worth Rs 25.5 million as well as a good amount of Rs 121 million were paid to the federal government in the head of fare for usage of helicopter from the Punjab government in the name of the chief minister.
The Opposition Leader said that during the last by-elections on the vacant seat of disqualified premier Mian Nawaz Sharif in constituency NA-120, in which his wife Kalsoom Nawaz was candidate, more than Rs 8.5 billion were spent to win it by hook or by crook.
The PTI leader claimed that according to the supplementary budget statement and revised estimates, fiscal year 2017-18, the Punjab government also paid Rs 5.5 million to Haris Salim for pursuing the case of disqualified premier Nawaz Sharif despite having an attorney general and his large legal team to assist the province in legal matters in the courts.
Anyhow, he further stated in the report that the Punjab government had also paid Rs 2.5 million to Azeem Nazir Tarar for his services as well as Rs 15 million were spent on the security of Jati Umra.
He said that on one hand, Shehbaz Sharif had failed to put an end to load shedding of electricity as per his tall claims of six months. Three years later, he has also remained unsuccessful in giving subsidy of Rs 6 billion to masses.
Published in Daily Times, May 23rd 2018.