Rs90m car purchased for Gilani from public funds

Senate chairman confirms acquisition, says he offered to return the vehicle

ISLAMABAD:

A luxury vehicle worth Rs90 million was purchased for the chairman of the Senate from the Senate's budget, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani has confirmed.

According to details, the expensive vehicle was bought from the Senate budget and has already reached the Senate Secretariat of Pakistan, sources said.

When contacted by Express News regarding the purchase, Gilani confirmed that the car had been bought. "Yes, we purchased the car from the Senate budget, but it was ordered in May last year," he said.

He explained that the vehicle had been ordered using savings from the Senate's budget of the previous year. Gilani added that he had attempted to return the vehicle in view of the country's current economic situation, but was told that the car had already arrived.

Earlier in June, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had stated in Parliament House that the Senate chairman and the speaker of the National Assembly were receiving a monthly salary of Rs2.15 million.

At the time, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had objected, saying that the massive increase in salaries of the chairman Senate, the National Assembly speaker and others amounted to "economic obscenity".