Almost all Pakistani prime ministers have taken personal possession since 2002 of gifts given to them at official receptions at reduced cost, The Dawn reported on March 14, citing data released by Pakistan’s Treasury.
In particular, Imran Khan is reported to have “bought” most of the 111 gifts received by him and his wife from the treasury, as did their current opponents: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz” (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif, who at one point also held senior government positions.
Almost every prime minister, from Shaukat Aziz (who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2007) to Shehbaz Sharif (the current prime minister), according to published figures.
In particular, the most expensive gift redeemed from the treasury – two Lexus and BMW cars, for a total amount of more than 107 million rupees (46 million rubles), went to the already mentioned Zardari “at a discount” for 16.7 million. rupees (7.2 million rubles). rub.). In total, the PPP holder received more than 182 gifts.
Imran Khan bought more than 100 crore rupees (43 million rubles) worth of gifts in September 2018, paying around 20% of their full face value.
Nawaz Sharif and his wife Kulthum Nawaz received at least 65 gifts, most of which were also repurchased much cheaper than their estimated value: for gifts worth 38 million rupees (16.3 million rubles), Nawaz Sharif paid 20% and his wife repurchased the gifts for 54 million rupees (23.2 million rubles) at the same “duty rate.”
Donors did not ignore Pakistan’s current Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who also redeemed Rs 44 crore worth of gifts at the aforementioned 20 percent rate. In turn, Pakistan’s late dictator Pervez Musharraf, who led the state from 1999 to 2007, received gifts free of charge or for a nominal fee.
The agency said that exchanging gifts at a reduced value was not the only problem, as Pakistani officials have traditionally responded with a gift for gift more often than not, and these “counter-gifts” are paid out of the public treasury.
“We need to deal with the very law that allows such profits for the ruling elite. They cannot be put under the hammer, except for those things that lose value over time (for example, cars). The rest must go to the state, for official display in the appropriate places.— said the publication of economist Javed Hassan.
It calculated that, adjusted for inflation, the loss to the Pakistani treasury from the sale of discounted gifts since 2002 would be three times the amount claimed.
Earlier, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was accused of “illegal proceeds” he received from the sale of exchanged gifts from the treasury. However, another former Pakistani head of government, PML-N member Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said that in such a case, the politician remains legally within his rights as the gift belongs exclusively to him.
He clarified that, in his opinion, Khan’s fault is that he paid 20% of the cost due after the sale of the gift, and not before.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.