Pakistan’s financial trouble hit a new high-low as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s official residence in Islamabad’s Red Zone has been put up for rent.
This decision to use the official PM residence to be rented out for cultural, fashion, educational, and other events was taken by the Pakistani Federal Cabinet on Tuesday (August 3) as a measure to shore up funds for the cash-strapped country.
It has also emerged that two committees have been formed to ensure that “discipline and decorum” of the PMs official residence are not violated during any events, reported Samaa TV.
In August of 2019, Imran Khan announced that an austerity drive wherein he has plans to convert the Prime Minister’s official residence into a state-of-the-art federal educational institution, and in order to cut costs, governors would not stay in Governor Houses anymore in a move to break away from colonial tradition and cut down on heavy costs.
As per Khan, the money saved by these measures will be used for welfare schemes. It must be noted that PakistanPM’s official residence was once rented out for the wedding function of Brigadier Waseem Iftikhar Cheema’s daughter in 2019 and Imran Khan, too was present at the wedding ceremony.
Pakistan’s Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood had said that it costs Rs 470 million to maintain the Prime Minister’s official residence in Islamabad and that was the reason Imran Khan vacated the official residence.
In September of 2018, the government of Pakistan auctioned eight buffaloes maintained by Imran Khan’s predecessor Nawaz Sharif at the PM House and garnered Rs 23 lakhs from the auction. The government also auctioned 61 luxury cars earlier this year to raise money for the country’s cash-strapped economy.
However, all these measures to stop spending are just drops in a bucket because Pakistan is now faced with massive debt and an economy that is constantly shrinking.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.