Acquisition of new aircraft comes under severe criticism in Punjab PA

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly session, which commenced with a delay of two hours and four minutes under the chair of Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, was marked by sharp exchanges between the treasury benches and the opposition over the Punjab government’s acquisition of a new aircraft.

Pakistan People’s Party legislator Shazia Abid brought the matter to the floor in a pointed and sarcastic manner, questioning whether the Chief Minister intended to use the aircraft for visits to Rajanpur and whether the plane, reportedly worth eleven billion rupees, would be made available to guests wishing to tour southern Punjab. She also remarked that the minister concerned had failed to provide satisfactory answers to her queries on the matter.

Provincial Minister for Information Azma Zahid Bukhari responded sharply, arguing that if Bilawal Bhutto could freely use the Sindh government’s aircraft, the Punjab government was equally within its rights to use its own plane as it saw fit. The retort drew a strong reaction from opposition members, who responded with the thumping of desks and uproar inside the chamber.

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly, Moeen Riaz Qureshi, pressed the government further, demanding that it disclose under which budgetary head the aircraft had been purchased. He questioned whether it was acquired for Air Punjab and, if so, where its charter was, or whether it was intended for the Chief Minister’s personal use, in which case he challenged the justification for such an expenditure on a luxury aircraft.

Qureshi also alleged that the government was deliberately creating divisions within the public and condemned the arrest of nine opposition assembly members without the Speaker’s permission as completely unacceptable, a statement that was met with slogans from opposition members inside the chamber. He further stated that the PTI founder was being denied even basic healthcare facilities in prison, stressing that every citizen holds the right to be treated by a doctor of their own choosing, a right that he said the government had chosen to disregard.

Chief Whip Rana Arshad, speaking on the floor of the House, expressed regret over the arrests of the assembly members, acknowledging that such an action should not have occurred. He nevertheless urged the opposition to reflect on its own conduct in the past, recalling that former Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz had been unlawfully imprisoned for a period of eighteen months.

On matters relating to the Department of Information and Broadcasting, Azma Bukhari informed the House that Bab-e-Pakistan had been established under a specific ideological vision and that detailed responses to questions regarding its buildings would be submitted at a later stage. She further disclosed that a new building was being acquired to consolidate all offices of the Department of Information and Public Relations under one roof, equipped with modern facilities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026