Treasury under fire over Punjab government’s luxury jet purchase

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly witnessed a stormy session with heated arguments between lawmakers over the purchase of a new “luxury” aircraft by the Punjab government, arrests of opposition lawmakers, and a series of legislative reforms introduced in the Assembly.

The purchase of a new aircraft by the provincial government dominated the proceedings of the Assembly as PPP MPA Shazia Abid asked if the newly purchased Rs11 billion “luxury” aircraft would be available for official visits to South Punjab.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari justified the purchase of the aircraft, saying that if PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari could use the Sindh government’s aircraft, then the Punjab government was also entitled to use its aircraft as it wanted. 

Opposition Leader Moin Riaz Qureshi requested a clear explanation regarding which budget head the aircraft purchase was made from and whether it was intended for “Air Punjab” or solely for the chief minister. The opposition leader said that the purchase of a “luxury” aircraft was unnecessary at a time when the country was facing economic challenges, leading to desk-thumping and slogans by opposition lawmakers.

The government's Chief Whip, Rana Arshad, retorted, "Why is the opposition raising an objection to the plane when the chief ministers of other provinces also use official planes?"

The assembly also saw heated protests over the alleged arrest of nine opposition MPAs without the speaker’s permission. The opposition members said that this was against the rules of the assembly.

MPA Sardar Sarfraz Dogar said that he was illegally detained for three days and later booked in a “false FIR,” terming it contempt of the assembly. He said that members could not be arrested without the speaker’s permission.

The treasury members defended themselves by saying that the opposition was suffering from double standards, pointing to previous arrests of political personalities, including Maryam Nawaz and her father.

Earlier, while responding to questions about the Information and Public Relations Department, Minister Azma Bukhari said that a new building, complete with modern facilities, would be acquired to house all the offices of the department in one place.

She also replied to questions about the Punjab Journalists Housing Foundation (PJHF), saying that its office would soon be moved from a rented building to a commercial space in “Press Club Society.”