PA seeks answers over CM's aircraft use for private visit

A controversy over the alleged use of a Punjab government aircraft for Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif's daughter's graduation ceremony has reached the Punjab Assembly, with a PTI lawmaker seeking a debate over a reported Rs12.5 million expenditure from the public exchequer. PTI MPA Waqas Mahmood Maan has submitted an adjournment motion notice, describing the matter as one of urgent public importance and seeking suspension of the House's scheduled business to debate the alleged use of the government aircraft for a private family event. According to the notice, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz attended her daughter's graduation ceremony in September 2026 and a Punjab government aircraft was allegedly used for the trip. The lawmaker said media reports had put the expenditure on fuel, parking and other related costs at approximately Rs12.5 million. The notice said that if the reports were correct, the use of a government aircraft for a private family event raised questions about the use of public resources and the protection of taxpayers' money. It further referred to issues including inflation, unemployment and inadequate basic facilities facing the province, arguing that any use of public funds for a private matter, if established, warranted clarification. The MPA has requested that his adjournment motion be admitted and time allocated in the provincial assembly for a debate on the issue. He has also sought relevant details of the reported expenditure to determine whether the spending was made under any legal or financial authority and whether the required approvals were obtained. The allegations have not been independently verified, while the notice seeks official information to establish the circumstances and legality of the reported expenditure. Earlier on Thursday, Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari had claimed that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif personally bore the entire cost of her recent London visit, but the claim has come under scrutiny as no details of the amount paid or documentary evidence were made public. The chief minister's visit to London to attend her daughter's graduation ceremony triggered criticism on social media over the alleged use of the Punjab government's recently acquired luxury jet and questions over who would bear the cost of the trip. Some experts estimated the total expense at more than Rs10 million, citing fuel, airport parking and airspace-related charges. The figures, however, have not been independently verified. Responding to the criticism, Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari said on social media that Maryam Nawaz had paid the entire cost of the trip from her own pocket, seeking to dispel the impression that public funds had been used. However, when approached by The Express Tribune later in the day for details of the amount paid by the chief minister and whether it covered the full cost of the journey, the minister did not respond. The issue gained further attention after former federal minister Fawad Chaudhary reposted a social media post attributed to senior journalist Muhammad Malick, which claimed that Rs3.5 million had been spent on parking the Gulfstream jet and another Rs7.8 million on fuel. Fawad, while sharing the post, criticised the reported expenditure, saying the cost of the chief minister's daughter's graduation in London had been borne by the "rich" nation. The figures cited in the post could not independently be verified.