ISLAMABAD – As questions over the conduct of the country’s previous rulers have started stirring following the austerity drive announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan, rivals are engaged in a war to prove the simplicity of their favourite ones.
A renowned journalist also came up with a claim that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had borne the expenses of PM House from his own pocket when he was in power, adding that evidence of payment was also shown to the newly-elected premier in a briefing.
However, the data available online contradicts the observation of the veteran journalist, confirming that the expenditures were made by using the public money.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/did-nawaz-sharif-actually-pay-for-pm-house-expenses-evidence-suggests-otherwise/
Safi again took to social media to validate his claim regarding the simplicity of the incarcerated Nawaz and this time with images of a cheque given by the former premier against the bills of different ceremonies.
https://twitter.com/SaleemKhanSafi/status/1032217670454833153
The shared documents bear interesting things need to be noticed, one is the header of the invoice, “Details of Family Wing Outstanding Bills”. The word “outstanding” explains itself that these are the bills of parties that he had there and dinners he had personally hosted. These bills are supposed to be paid by Nawaz, as PM House budget does not cover these expenses.
According to the documents, Nawaz had paid bills around Rs6 million for holding lunch, dinners and arrangements of his granddaughter Mahnoor’s birthday during March 3, 2015 to June 14, 2017 at the PM House.
The breakdown of the outstanding bills shows;
- Rs5.734 million spent on lunch and dinners during May 1, 2016 to Aug 9, 2017
- Rs297,422 paid for the birthday party of Mahnoor and miscellaneous bills in March 2015
- Rs77,000 paid for purchasing goats for donation
- Rs36,967 paid for food expenditures for Hussain Nawaz’s guests during May 24, 2017 to June 14, 2017
The former premier, who is currently serving his term in Adiala Jail after his conviction in the Avenfield corruption case, did not bear the expenses of PM House, instead of his personal gatherings.
The official data for the outgoing fiscal year 2017-18 shows that the government had allocated Rs917 million for the Prime Minister Office. However, the amount paid by the imprisoned Sharif is 0.645 percent of the total amount embarked for the expenses of the premier’s residence.
Another thing in the documents that hold the attention is the date written on the cheque issued by the former prime minister against the ‘expenses’.
The cheque was signed on August 29, 2017, nearly a month after he was disqualified by the Supreme Court after he found guilty in the Panama Papers case for concealing his assets.
