Saeed seeks making public former rulers’ expenditures

Writes letter to Debt Inquiry Commission chairman; says money should be taken back

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed has written a letter to the chairman of the Debt Inquiry Commission, requesting him to make public the record regarding unnecessary expenditures incurred from the public exchequer by former president Asif Zardari, ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif.

“The ministry on December 2, 2019, provided proof regarding unnecessary expenditures by the former heads of state/government to the Debt Inquiry Commission,” the federal minister said.

“From the national treasury, Sharif has spent Rs4.31 billion on his camp office and foreign tours, Zardari Rs3.16 billion and Shehbaz over Rs8.72 billion,” Saeed said.

“After Sharif’s disqualification [as the prime minister], Shehbaz Sharif [the former Punjab chief minister] declared their personal house in Raiwind the Chief Minister House and spent the public’s millions of rupees on it,” the minister said. “Shehbaz also spent the public money on declaring four of his personal homes as camp offices.”

He said that money was spent from the national kitty for the Jati Umrah road, security, fencing and other things.

On PPP leadership, Saeed said that Co-chairman Zardari and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani spent public money on declaring three each of their homes as camp offices.

“The national treasury also bore the expenditure of Zardari’s 59 foreign trips.

“Sharif conducted 25 ‘private’ foreign trips. Shehbaz bought the prime minister’s airplane for Rs430 million, a helicopter for Rs1.5 billion and did foreign trips, all from the national treasury.”

He said that Shehbaz “illegally” used the prime minister’s airplane 556 times. “Despite the fact that Zardari is not the president of Pakistan, an amount of Rs1.63 billion was spent on his security from the national kitty during the last five years.

“For the security of Jati Umrah, an amount of Rs2.14 billion was spent.”

Saeed said that all documents were submitted to the commission and requested an update in the better interest of the public.

“As the nation is already reeling from their plundering and extravagant spending, it is vital to take back the money from them and put it in the national treasury so that it could be used to provide relief to the public,” Saeed said.