Prime Minister Imran Khan’s six foreign trips undertaken from September 18 to November 20 cost the national exchequer Rs. 40.381 million in stark contrast of a single visit of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2016 to the UK for treatment that cost the national kitty Rs. 34.5 million.
Documents shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the National Assembly showed that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to the UK on May 22, 2016 for treatment in a special plane. As the PM stayed there for the surgical procedure, the special plane returned. The special plane again went to the UK on July 9, 2016 to bring back the former Prime Minister.
The Foreign Ministry’s documents showed the VVIP flight cost the exchequer Rs. 34.5 million.
On the other hand, the details of expenditures incurred on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s six foreign trips show a cost of Rs. 40.381 million.
The breakup of the details shows that Prime Minister’s one-day trip to Saudi Arabia cost Rs. 3.09 million while the visit to Abu Dhabi cost Rs. 0.4 million.
An amount of Rs. 0.87 million was spent on the two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. Out of the six visits, PM’s 5-day trip to China proved to be the most expensive one. It cost Rs. 24.4 million to the national kitty.
The second trip to Abu Dhabi in November this year cost Rs. 3.9 million while Imran Khan’s visit to Malaysia cost Rs. 7.5 million.
