ISLAMABAD – The Prime Minister House will be turned into a postgraduate institution, said Minister for National History and Literary Heritage Division Shafqat Mehmood said Thursday.
Addressing the media, Mehmood said that the people of the country were annoyed by the previous governments’ “royal standards” of living and thus Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided that he will not stay in the Prime Minister House and governors will not reside in Governor Houses in an effort to not waste public money.
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The minister informed that the annual expenditure of the Prime Minister House amounted to Rs 470 million. He stated that the property would be turned into a “top-class” educational institute and that the land behind the Prime Minister House would also be judiciously utilised.
Later, briefing the media on the decisions taken by the government, he said following the 100-Day agenda of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the government is transforming Governor House-Murree into a Trust Complex as well as Punjab House and Governor House-Rawalpindi into educational institutions respectively.
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The Governor House in Lahore will be turned into a museum and art gallery, it’s park will be open for public, he added. Hall located on 90 Shahrah will be made convention centre and the Chamba House will operate as Governor Office.
Mehmood also informed about considerations regarding turning the Governor House in Karachi into a museum.
“We will consult the Sindh government on the matter,” he said.
Talking about the Governor Houses in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mehmood said, they will be turned into museums, whereas the Governor House in Nathia Gali will be made into a state-of-art resort.
Decisions related to other government offices will be taken later, he added.
In his maiden speech to the nation on August 19, PM Khan had said that there were 524 persons to serve the prime minister at the 1100-Kanal PM House, coupled with 80 cars, including 33 bulletproof ones having the price of Rs 50 million each, besides helicopters and an aeroplane.
He also mentioned the huge and luxurious state buildings like governor houses, CM houses, rest houses, residences of secretaries, commissioners, DCs etc.
“At one hand the nation was burdened with debt and on the other, we have the elite. This system was created by the British during the colonial era to rule the masses, but even after independence the same practice was being followed,” Imran Khan remarked.
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