Official aircraft travel: Maryam pays Rs27.5m out of pocket to settle expenses

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced that cancer treatment hospitals will be established in every division of Punjab and made functional within 12 months. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Multan Electrobus Service, the chief minister displayed the receipt of payment for the aircraft used to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony, saying that she had paid nearly Rs27.5 million from her own pocket, including fuel, parking and other charges. She said she was not answerable to vloggers or YouTubers but to Allah Almighty and, thereafter, the people. “They can continue criticising me; if their livelihood depends on criticising Maryam Nawaz, let it continue,” she said. The chief minister said she had travelled on commercial flights before becoming chief minister and had also hired aircraft before the government acquired its own plane. “If I have to travel for an official visit, which aircraft should I use? Was I not among the people during the floods?” she asked. She said the aircraft belonged not to Maryam Nawaz but to the Chief Minister of Punjab. According to her, all four provincial chief ministers had access to aircraft, questioning why she alone was being criticised for using one. “Should I travel by Qingqi, motorcycle or Metrobus if I am criticised for travelling by aircraft?” she asked, adding that she worked day and night and often fell asleep while working. Maryam Nawaz said the chief minister’s time was extremely valuable and that travelling to remote areas of the province was necessary for public service and development. She said visits to China, Türkiye and Japan were also required in the interest of the people. She said that when airports in London suddenly shut down and commercial flights were affected for three to four days, she was able to return within two days because an aircraft was available. The chief minister said 50,000 roads had been constructed, repaired and rehabilitated across Punjab, while loans had been issued to 200,000 people under the “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” programme. She said one million farmers had received Kisan Cards, helping them avoid exploitation by middlemen. She said public money was being spent carefully and responsibly. “I neither commit corruption myself nor allow anyone else to do so,” she said, adding that the government was working on billions of rupees worth of development projects. Maryam Nawaz said hundreds of police officials had been arrested on charges of taking bribes in recent days, while officials from the Revenue Department and Anti-Corruption Establishment had also been apprehended. Referring to political criticism, she said some people had come from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab and remained seated along the roadside without being recognised. She said the people of Punjab knew who the real thieves were and who was involved in corruption. She said she had asked the Deputy Commissioner Lahore why adequate arrangements had not been made for the visiting guests. “At least 400 to 500 people could have been sent,” she said. The chief minister said she had travelled to the ceremony on a Green Bus that day. “Why is nobody talking about it now? Why have the locks been put on their mouths?” she asked, adding that criticism was not directed at Maryam Nawaz but at Punjab’s development. She said Punjab had not taken anyone else’s share and had, rather, given from its own share to others. She said major cardiology, cancer and other hospitals were being established in Punjab and people from other provinces would also benefit from these facilities. Maryam Nawaz said Rs300 billion had been allocated for the “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” programme, Rs500 billion for “Suthra Punjab”, and Rs200 billion each for Green Buses and hospitals. “Why do you talk about Rs9 billion aircraft but not about development projects worth billions of rupees?” she asked, adding that a major cancer hospital, described by her as one of the largest in the world, was also being established in Punjab. She said the government had started working at a fast pace and would continue working with the same enthusiasm and speed throughout the five-year term. She said the target of 5,000 buses would be achieved. “Corruption exists everywhere, but it is visible in Punjab because corrupt people are being arrested here,” she said. The chief minister said visitors travelling towards Chhangla had observed that development activity had diminished after crossing into another province. She said roads were in poor condition and encroachments were visible after entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Maryam Nawaz thanked the people of Multan for their warm welcome, saying she would never forget the enthusiastic reception accorded to her by students and citizens along the city’s roads. Congratulating the people of Multan on the launch of the Electrobus Service, she said 160 electric buses would soon be operating in the city. She said every electrobus was equipped with air-conditioning, free Wi-Fi and mobile charging ports, while CCTV monitoring had made the service particularly safe for women. The chief minister said students were the largest group of passengers on electrobus services early in the morning. She said many parents had previously been reluctant to allow their children to attend educational institutions because of the lack of safe transport facilities. “Children had to travel on the roofs of buses to reach their educational institutions, but such scenes are no longer visible in Punjab,” she said. Maryam Nawaz said the Agriculture Mall on Shujaabad Road provided farmers with seeds, fertilisers, medicines and machinery under one roof. She said the Multan-Vehari Road, previously known as a dangerous road because of frequent accidents, had been reconstructed at a cost of Rs35 billion and completed within one year. Travel time between Multan and Vehari had consequently been reduced from two and a half hours to one hour. “Multan is also visited by people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan for medical treatment,” she said, adding that a second PET scan machine had been installed in Multan after the one at PKLI. She said 100 cancer patients had fully recovered following successful treatment through an ablation machine in Lahore. She said the treatment cost ranged from Rs1.6 million to Rs2.8 million per patient, but after 60 minutes of treatment, a cancer patient could leave as a recovered person. The chief minister announced that 1,100 more electric buses were arriving and every district and tehsil of Punjab would eventually have an electric bus service. She said 3,000 buses would be operational across the province by the end of the year, with a target of 5,000 buses. She said the government was working to provide quality public transport even in smaller cities where people had previously not imagined having access to such facilities. Maryam Nawaz said air pollution had declined following measures to control smog in Punjab and appreciated Senior Minister Mariyum Aurangzeb for her efforts in this regard. She announced that 100,000 electric bikes would be provided to students. The last date for applications was October 4, while around 300,000 applications had already been received. She said female students would not be required to pay a down payment, while helmets and two days of free driving training would also be provided. The chief minister said 300 Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence were being established across Punjab. She said schools that previously had only five to 10 students were now attracting around 2,000 students after being upgraded. She said the Schools of Eminence were providing children with the quality of education traditionally available to affluent students at elite institutions. Maryam Nawaz said 100 million people had received free medical treatment during the previous year, while medicines were being delivered to hundreds of thousands of people at their doorsteps. She said she was extremely happy when a citizen who received free treatment for bladder cancer under the health card expressed gratitude. She added that poor patients would receive free treatment at the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology. The chief minister reiterated that cancer hospitals would be established in every division of Punjab and made functional within 12 months. She said 50,000 kilometres of roads had been constructed across Punjab and work on streets and neighbourhood was also underway. Clean drinking water was being supplied to households, while WASA had been established in 40 districts compared with only a few districts previously. She said billions of rupees had been spent on purchasing machinery for the “Suthra Punjab” programme. Maryam Nawaz said rising petroleum prices in the international market should not become an additional burden on parents. She said female students would now be seen riding scooters across Punjab because the province had become safer. She said difficult decisions had been taken to improve law and order, adding that public safety was rarely discussed while attention was often focused on those involved in wrongdoing. The chief minister said loans under the “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” programme were now exceeding Rs2 million and expressed the hope that five hundred thousand homeless families would be provided with homes. She said the programme had been selected for a UN-Habitat award for constructing a large number of quality homes within a short period. Applications had been received and billions of rupees were being provided to ensure that houses remained safe during storms and heavy rains. She said thousands of people had been provided government agricultural land for farming along with Rs50,000 to support crop cultivation. “The farmer who sows wheat this year will, Insha Allah, receive a good return,” Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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