Did Bilawal Bhutto buy ticket to participate in Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony?

A day after news broke that Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was invited to US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20, allegations surfaced that he purchased a donation ticket.

According to media reports, the PPP chairman will depart for Washington in the next few days to attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary Information Shiekh Waqas Akram, while sharing a post about Bilawal Bhutto's invitation on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, stated that anyone can attend Trump’s inauguration by paying money.

He wrote, “For your information, anyone can pay and go. They have lots of different packages, including dinners with congressmen and proposed cabinet members.”

Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur spoke to reporters on Thursday, stating that the White House has not officially invited Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

“They bought $25,000 donation tickets and are presenting it as if they were privately invited. They are deceiving the nation,” Gandapur said, taking a dig at the PPP Chairman.

A social media user allegedly wrote that President Asif Ali Zardari used $1 million or more of Pakistani funds to purchase a ticket for Trump’s prestigious event for personal political gain.

In a reply, another social media user questioned, “Bilawal & Mohsin Naqvi have purchased tickets for the inauguration? Not invited by Trump Team?”

Secretary General of PTI, Salman Akram Raja, while speaking to reporters at Parliament House on Thursday, stated that 20 party leaders received invitations to Trump's inauguration ceremony.

“Twenty of our people have received invitations,” he said in response to whether only the Bhutto scion was invited to Trump's inauguration ceremony.

Raja sidestepped the question when asked to reveal the names of party leaders invited to Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

When asked if Raja and party founder Imran Khan had received invitations, he claimed, “We are not going. However, our party leaders will attend the inauguration ceremony, Inshallah.”

Major donors to Donald Trump’s inaugural committee are required to contribute twice as much to gain direct access to him and vice-president-elect JD Vance at private events surrounding the swearing-in ceremony, according to fundraising materials reported by The Guardian.

To briefly interact with Trump and Vance, donors must contribute at least $1m to the committee – the highest-tier ticket package – a marked increase from the previous cycle, when the same access cost $500,000, The Guardian reported.