Daily Times

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had to incur expenses of Rs 44 crore for the journey that brought Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from Great Britain to Pakistan.

Analyst Haroon Rashid in his talk show said he got to know of the expenses (Rs 44 crore) incurred by the PIA after going through details of the prime minister’s journey.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s journey has met with criticism after details of the expenses were disclosed to the public. Media reports say a dedicated aircraft was sent to bring back the prime minister.

Sources say several international flights were delayed and the national carrier had to incur expenses in dollars. The cost, however, they gave of the whole trip was between $400,000 and $480,000.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan had also tweeted his thoughts on the prime minister’s journey, comparing the lifestyle of the incumbent prime minister with his British counterpart.

However, PIA spokesperson Danyal Gilani had insisted the national carrier would not bear any loss. He also informed about alternative flight arrangements PIA had made.

A writ petition had also been filed in the Lahore High Court that challenged the return of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan through the special aircraft.

The July 11 petition argued the prime minister’s journey had caused huge loss to the national exchequer. The petitioner, Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree had also asked Nawaz Sharif to bear all expenses from his pocket.