ISLAMABAD: Foreign visits by four former and sitting Prime Minister Imran Khan cost the national exchequer an estimated Rs3 billion during the past 12 years, official record shows. However, foreign visits by Prime Minister Imran Khan cost less expenses. He used chartered aircraft on 20 of his total 26 official visits and a commercial flight on an international trip.
Geo News/The News went through official records pertaining to the PMs’ foreign trip details submitted to the parliament from 2009 to 2020.
Around 119 questions pertaining to 191 foreign tours of PMs, presidents and foreign ministers were asked by the MPs during this period. However, differences were found what was officially said about PMs tour to the foreign lands. A PTI and prime minister's aide officially tweeted on November 20, 2020 that premier Khan spent only $11,000 (Rs1.7 million) on his Afghanistan trips, while his predecessors Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari spent $58,000 (Rs6 million) in 2015 and $44,000 (Rs3.8 million) in 2009, respectively.
In fact, the official record of MoFA submitted to the Parliament on Feb 17, 2016 in response to a written question asked by Imran Zafar Leghari MNA revealed that the then premier Nawaz Sharif spent Rs202,800 on his trip to Afghanistan on May 12, 2015.
Similarly, according to MoFA's reply submitted to the Parliament in response to a question posed by MNA Sumaira Yasir Rashid on Mar 12, 2009, the then president Zardari collectively spent Rs2 million on his two Kabul trips (Dec 18, 2008 and Jan 7, 2009).
PTI further tweeted on Nov 20, 2020 that ex-premier Sharif spent $1.113 million (Rs.115.8 million) on his UNGA trip in 2016, PM Abbasi spent $705,019 (Rs70.5 million) on his UNGA trip in 2017 and PM Khan spent Rs25.9 million to attend UNGA session in 2019.
Nevertheless, Parliament's record shows that according to the MoFA's official response (submitted to the Parliament on July 24, 2020) Premier Sharif spent Rs94.2 million on the UNGA trip in 2016. PM Abbasi spent Rs62.4 million on his trip to UNGA in New York in 2017, revealed MoFA's official response submitted to the Parliament in response to Senator Seemi Ezdi's query on July 20, 2020.
The PTI again tweeted that ex-PM Sharif spent $549,853 (Rs59 million) on his trip to Washington in Oct 2013, President Zardari spent $ 752,688 (Rs.63 million) on his U.S. visit in May 2009 while PM Khan spent only $ 67,180 (Rs.10.9 million).
MoFA's record showed that PM Sharif spent Rs.31.5 million on his trip to the U.S. in Oct 2013, according to the official record of MoFA submitted before the Parliament on Feb 17, 2016.
PM Gilani spent $ 459,451 (Rs.43.7 million) on his trip to World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2012, PM Sharif spent $ 762,199 (Rs.80.8 million) in 2017, PM Abbasi spent $561,381 (Rs.69.1 million) in 2018 and PM Khan spent $68,000 (Rs.10 million) to attend WEF 2019 in Davos, PTI further tweeted.
While MoFA's response revealed that PM Gillani spent Rs44.1 million in WEF in Davos in 2012, PM Sharif spent Rs79.8 million in 2017, PM Abbasi spent Rs62 million in 2018 and PM Khan, according to PTI's official tweet, spent Rs11 million on his trip to WEF in Davos in 2019.
However, the figures given by the PTI and Premier Khan's one cabinet member with regard to the figures carried some discrepancies. The figures tweeted by this cabinet member about the PM’s Kabul trip on Nov 20, 2020 also carried discrepancies.
On Jan 25, 2020, the cabinet member’s tweet about expenditures on the PMs and President Zardari's visits to Davos, New York, Washington happening in different years also carried miscalculations.
Official records further showed that five PMs spent Rs2.9 billion on their 191 international trips from 2008 to Nov 2020. They were accompanied by 5,576 individuals who spent 453 days abroad during this period.
The Office of Prime Minister, the cabinet member, PTI and Foreign Office did not respond to Geo News' questions despite this correspondent repeatedly approaching them (PTI, PM Office, the cabinet member and Foreign Office) in the past eight weeks.
PM Gillani
PM Yousaf Raza Gillani did 48 international visits from June 2008 to June 2012), according to MoFA's response submitted to the Parliament in July this year.
It further revealed that those trips cost Rs572 million to the national exchequer. As many as 2,137 individuals accompanied him.
Premier Gillani spent 92 days abroad during those trips. MoFA's response submitted in response to a question by MNA Shahbaz Babar before the Parliament on Sep 18, 2013, however, revealed that PM did 50 international visits, spent Rs632 million and was accompanying an entourage of 395 officials and individuals.
PM Ashraf
PM Ashraf went on 07 international trips with an entourage of 44 people from June 2012 to March 2013. He spent Rs58 million, according to MoFA's response submitted before the Parliament on Sep 18, 2013. It continued to reveal that PM Ashraf made 12 international trips with an entourage of 285 individuals and lived 14 days abroad during this period.
PM Sharif
PM Sharif went on 92 official international trips which cost Rs1.8 billion to the national exchequer from July 2013 to July 2017. He was accompanying 2390 people who lived 262 days abroad during those trips, according to MoFA's response submitted before Parliament in July this year.
PM Abbasi
PM Abbasi spent Rs260 million on his official 19 international trips from Jan 23, 2018 to May 19, 2018. As many as 478 individuals were accompanied with him who spent 50 days abroad on these trips.
PM Imran Khan
PM Khan did 26 international trips from September 2018 to Feb 27, 2020 where expenditure incurred on these visits is estimated Rs140 million.
A total of 527 persons accompanied the Prime Minister on those 26 foreign visits. He stayed 37 days abroad during those trips. Official response, however, on PM Khan's foreign spending is awaited.
The MoFA in its response to a question asked by MNA Rana Sanaullah in 2019 informed the Parliament that PM Imran Khan collectively spent Rs40.4 million on his six international trips in 2018. And then MoFA in response to two different question asked by Senator Murtaza Javed Abbasi this year (Jan 13, 2020 and Oct 19, 2020) informed the Parliament that PM Khan took 22 international trips from September 2018 to earlier this year which cost Rs120 million; while a total of 440 persons accompanied him.
Mr. Khan spent Rs3.1 million on his KSA trip (Sep 18 to Sep 19) in 2018, Rs0.5 million on his UAE trip in 2018, Rs0.9 million on KSA visit in 2018, Rs24.5 on his China trip in 2018, Rs4 million on his UAE visit in 2018 and Rs7.6 million on his Malaysia visit on Nov 20, 2018.
Mr. Khan used chartered aircraft on 20 of his total 26 official visits while he used a commercial flight on an international trip. The expenditure on aircraft hiring is being compiled, MoFA stated in its response.
