80 Punjab Assembly members claim Rs29.83m from 2008
to-date; 48 KP Assembly members get more than Rs23m
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat has finally released the details of MNAs who availed themselves of medical facilities from the public exchequer.
The amount spent on the MNAs (Rs64.38 million) is far higher than the total money spent by the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly members combined for their medical treatment during the last 10 years.
The certified information provided by the National Assembly Secretariat under the provision of Freedom of Information 2002 reveals that the National Assembly Secretariat spent Rs64.38 million for the medical treatment of MNAs from 2008 to date.
As per documents provided by the NA Secretariat, out of the total amount spent on parliamentarians during the current and previous regimes, a major chunk was spent during 2008 and 2013.
The parliamentarians spent Rs46.54 million on their medical treatment from the public money during 2007-08 and 2012-13. Similarly, during the current tenure of National Assembly Rs17.85 million has been spent on the MNAs medical treatment.
Earlier in April 2017 this reporter sought the same information from all the four provincial assemblies, the National Assembly and the Senate Secretariat. The provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already provided the required information along with details including the names of parliamentarians who availed themselves of medical treatment from the public exchequer.
However, the National Assembly Secretariat after almost two months has provided information about the total money but not the names of the parliamentarians who availed themselves of the medical treatment from the public exchequer.
This reporter filed a complaint with the Federal Ombudsman against the Senate and National Assembly Secretariat for not providing the required information after which the NA Secretariat provided the information but half.
However, the Senate Secretariat wrote a letter to this reporter that the required information will be provided soon. As per the certified information provided by both the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a total of 80 parliamentarians in the Punjab Assembly claimed Rs29.83 million from 2008 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 themselves of medical facilities from the public exchequer include the current KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, former Chief Minister Pir Muhammad Sabir Shah, Shaukat Yousafzai and Qalandar Khan Lodhi, the sitting Provincial Minister for Food.
Similarly, from Punjab Assembly the notables who availed themselves of medical facility from the public exchequer include Maiza Hameed, Samina Khawar Hayat, Mohsin Latif, Mohsin Khan Leghari, Mr. Ziaullah 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 range from Rs2100 to Rs4.79 million. As per the information an MPA Col (retd) Muhammad Abbas Chaudhry from PP-134 received Rs2,100 which was 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 parliamentarians who claimed maximum medical expenses during 2008-2013 include Dr. Zamurd Yasmin Rana (Rs948,912), Maiza Hameed (Rs.436,949) and Samina Khawar Hayat (Rs422,191).
Similarly, among the male MPA the top three parliamentarians who claimed maximum amount for their medical expenses include Syed Muhammad Rafiuddin Bukhari PP-210 (Rs4.79 million), Mr. Khurram Nawab PP-22 (Rs3.81 million) and Mr. 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 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 KP Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah PK-52 (Rs1.01 million) and Qalandar Khan Lodhi who is sitting Provincial Minister for Food obtained Rs889,823. Similarly, from the current KP Assembly Chief Minister Pervez Khattak claimed Rs267,716 and Shaukat Ali Yousafzai PK-02 obtained Rs14,141 for his medical bills.
