Rs65.2m spent on foreign visits of ministers, PM’s aides

On Monday, it was disclosed to the National Assembly that government officials spent Rs65.21 million ($427,694) on foreign visits made by federal ministers, state ministers, advisors, and special assistants to the Prime Minister between January 1, 2022 and December 2022. The Cabinet Division provided a list of the expenditures incurred on the foreign trips made by the officials. Minister for National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination, Abdul Qadir Patel, had the highest expenses of Rs10.42 million ($68,398) on his foreign visit, while Minister for Board of Investment Chaudhry Salik Hussain spent Rs3.78 million ($24,791), Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman spent Rs4.91 million ($32,177), Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mehmood spent Rs1.84 million ($12,060), Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar spent Rs5.89 million ($38,667), ex-minister for defense production Zubaida Jalal spent Rs9.35 lakh ($6,133), Minister for Defense Production Israr Tareen spent Rs2.5 million ($16,402), Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif spent Rs3.167 million ($20,737), Khurram Dastgir spent Rs2.60 million ($17,045), Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum Division) Dr Musadik Malik spent Rs3.5 million ($22,954), ex-minister for economic affairs Omar Ayub Khan spent Rs1.5 million ($9,841), ex-minister for federal education and professional training Shafqat Mehmood spent Rs9.12 lakh ($5,986), federal minister for federal education and professional training Rana Tanveer Hussain spent Rs178,401 ($1,169), ex-finance minister senator Shaukat Tarin spent Rs912,239 ($5,986), ex-finance minister Miftah Ismael spent Rs4.59 million ($30,115), Finance Minister Ishaq Dar spent Rs2.45 million ($16,086), Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus spent Rs4.096 million ($26,859), Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari spent Rs1.54 million ($10,102), Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb spent Rs619,157 ($4,063), Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haq spent Rs1.8 million ($11,798), Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar spent Rs818,646 ($5,378), Minister for Maritimes Affairs Senator Faisal Sabzwari spent Rs805,954 ($5,292), Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajid Hussain Turi spent Rs3.117 million ($20,466), Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Justice Shazia Marri spent Rs1.58 million ($10,365), and Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor spent Rs791,256 ($5,192). Additionally, former advisor to the PM on national security, Moeed Yousaf, spent Rs39,850 ($261) on his visit to Kabul and Rs19,296 ($126) on his visit to China. Former Advisor to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood spent Rs466.285 ($3,058) and Rs481,854 ($3,161) on his visits to Dubai. An amount of Rs328,332 ($2,152) was spent on former Special Assistant to the PM on social protection and poverty alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar's foreign visits to Dubai.