Punjab, KP MPs spent Rs53m on treatment

Islamabad: The parliamentarians from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies spent Rs53.3 million for their medical treatment during the last two tenures i.e. 2008-13 and 2013 till to date. As much as 80 MPs from Punjab spent Rs29.83 million whereas the 48 MPs from KP Assembly spent Rs23.47 million during the same period.

The certified information provided by both the provincial assemblies under the provision of RTI Act 2013 reveals that a total of 80 parliamentarians in the Punjab Assembly claimed Rs29.83 million during the last two tenure i.e. from 2008 to 2013 and from 2013 till to date. Similarly 48 MPAs from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were awarded more than Rs23 million in the same period.

The beneficiaries of the medical treatment from the public money include some big names from the sitting as well as previous assembly of the KP. The notables who availed medical facilities from the public exchequer include KP Chief Minister Parvaiz Khattak, former Chief Minister Pir Muhammad Sabir Shah, Shaukat Yousafzai and Qalandar Khan Lodhi, sitting provincial minister for food. 

Similarly from the Punjab Assembly the notables who availed medical facility from the public exchequer include Maiza Hameed, Samina Khawar Hayat, Mohsin Latif, Mohsin Khan Leghari, Zia Ullah Shah, Raja Rashid Hafeez and many others.

The certified information provided by the Punjab Assembly Secretariat reveals that the claims of the MPAs in terms of medical bills are ranging from Rs2,100 to Rs4.79 million. As per the information an MPA Col (R) Muhammad Abbas Chaudhry from PP-134 received Rs2,100 which is the minimum amount claimed by any parliamentarian for his medical expenditures. Similarly, Syed Rafiuddin Bukhari claimed Rs4.79 million for his medical expenses during the 2008-13 tenure which is the maximum amount spent by any member in the Punjab Assembly.

The information received from Punjab Assembly under the provision of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 further reveals that from 2008-2013 total 54 MPAs claimed for their medical expenses out of which 16 were the women parliamentarians. The top three among the women MPs, who claimed for maximum medical expenses during 2008-2013, include Dr Zamurd Yasmin Rana (Rs948,912), Maiza Hameed (Rs436,949) and Samina Khawar Hayat (Rs422,191). 

Similarly among the male MPAs, the top three parliamentarians who claimed maximum amount for their medical expenses include Syed Muhammad Rafiuddin Bukhari PP-210 (Rs4.79 million), Khurram Nawab PP-22 (Rs3.81 million) and Malik Iftikhar Ahmed PP-10 (Rs1.97 million).

The information provided by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly under the provision of RTI Act 2013 reveals that 48 MPAs claimed for the medical expenses during both the tenures of provincial assembly i.e. 2008-2013 and 2013 till to date. As per the information 29 out of the 48 claimed Rs20.34 million for the medical expenses during the 2008-2013 tenure and Rs3.13 million during the current assembly’s tenure.

As per the information, top four MPAs who claimed maximum expenses for their medical bills include Muhammad Zahir Khan PK-87 (Rs4.85 million), Muhammad Zameen Khan PK-96 (Rs3.07 million), former Chief Minister KPK Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah PK-52 (Rs1.01 million) and Qalandar Khan Lodhi obtained (Rs889,823).

Similarly from the current KP Assembly, Chief Minister Parvaiz Khattak claimed Rs267,716 and Shaukat Ali Yousafzai PK-02 obtained Rs14,141 for his medical bills. It is pertinent to mention here that this scribe sent an information request to the National Assembly, Senate and all the four provincial assemblies on April 18, 2017. The information request was sent to all the assemblies on the same date. However, KP and Punjab while again leading from the front in providing certified information under the RTI Act 2013 have released the required information but the same information from the Senate and National Assembly is still awaited.