Friday, March 29, 2024

Nawaz spent Rs1.84b, Zardari Rs1.42b on foreign tours: Shafqat Mahmood

Nawaz spent Rs1.84b, Zardari Rs1.42b on foreign tours: Shafqat Mahmood
July 9, 2019
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had spent Rs1.84 billion while former president Asif Zardari spent Rs1.42 billion on their foreign tours during their respective tenures. Briefing the media about decisions made by the federal cabinet on Tuesday, Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said that Asif Zardari had made 134 foreign tours, including 51 to Dubai and 17 to Britain. “Zardari also accompanied about 3,250 people with him during these tours,” he disclosed. Shafqat Mahmood said that Nawaz Sharif had stayed in foreign countries for 262 days during his four-year tenure. “However, Prime Minister Imran Khan will stay in the residence of the Pakistani ambassador during the US tour,” he said. He said that the cabinet had also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to start a probe into the foreign ‘Iqama’ of PML-N leader Khawaja Asif. The minister said that the cabinet had also expressed concern over the media coverage of the convicted political leaders. “It is not appropriate to broadcast the interviews of the convicts. Who will respect the law when the convicts are presented as heroes in the media,” he quoted the prime minister as saying during the cabinet meeting. He said that the prime minister had called for the regulatory authorities to play their role in this regard. “The PM also directed the Advisor on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi to ensure that prices of essential commodities including flour, ghee and pulses are kept to a reasonable level so that there is no additional burden on people of lower income backgrounds,” he added. Shafqat Mahmood said that the PM had expressed deep concern on the trend of granting extensions in employment to some persons of certain organizations and criteria published in the media to select them. “Strict action will be taken against the responsible persons of government organizations who show bias or favour while recruiting candidates for public sector jobs,” he quoting the PM as saying.