Punjab government’s new luxury jet is more expensive than any aircraft owned by Indian state governments, journalist Muhammad Malick has claimed.
Days after drawing attention for his report regarding the use of said jet by Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz for a private tour, Malick, during his show, said that the aircraft owned by the provincial government on this side of the border was a 2019 super-luxury aircraft.
While, he added, even the most expensive aircraft owned by an Indian state chief minister cost around $13 million to $14 million less.
He further said that the most expensive state government-owned aircraft on the other side of the border belonged to the chief minister of Gujarat, which was one of India’s five wealthiest states.
“Furthermore, the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab does not even own a fixed-wing aircraft,” Malick said.
Turning to Pakistan, Malick said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government did not own an airplane, despite claims that every provincial chief executive has access to one.
He added that the KP government previously had two helicopters, but one crashed last year during relief operations, killing five people. “The provincial government currently has a five-seater helicopter with space for two pilots and three passengers.”
Malick also discussed the aircraft owned by the Balochistan government, saying it has an eight-seater 2006-model Learjet.
“I learned that for every single hour it flies, it requires five hours of maintenance,” he said, adding that the aircraft did not have proper seatbelts until recently.
He also said it was similar for Sindh that also owns an eight-seater Learjet among other aircraft, none of which come close to Punjab’s aircraft in value.
