Prime Minister Imran Khan spent $680,000 on 12 international travels across three continents, less than half of what previous president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif spent on one trip to New York apiece.
According to numbers supplied by the Prime Minister’s Office, Imran continued his austerity approach during his first three years in power, slashing the budget of his office and official house by nearly 40%.
Imran travelled abroad 26 times in total, for a total cost of Rs176 million ($1.1 million at today’s exchange rate). However, the sum is still less than Zardari’s one-time trip to New York ($1.1 million) nine years ago, and slightly more than Nawaz’s one-time trip to the same city in 2016.
Some international trips are uncommon among the three leaders of the major political parties, who were left out of this study.
Some international trips are uncommon among the three leaders of the major political parties, who were left out of this study. Prime Minister Imran’s spending on 12 travels to Asia, Europe, and America totaled $680,115, or Rs108 million, according to data accessible.
The expenses for only four of the 12 places covered by Zardari totaled $2.1 million, or Rs318 million. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid a total of $4.5 million (Rs712 million) to visit ten of these locations. The total cost of Nawaz’s international trips came to Rs1.8 billion.
However, the savings that Imran has made by avoiding unnecessary international travels and allowing only the bare minimum of expenses have been wasted due to a blunder by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
According to PM Office figures, Imran travelled overseas 26 times in three years, Pervez Ashraf went abroad nine times in a year, Yousuf Reza Gilani went abroad 48 times in four years, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi went abroad 19 times in a year.
Imran Khan’s 2020 trip to Davos, Switzerland, cost $53,914 instead of $68,000, according to data from the Prime Minister’s Office. Nawaz’s trip to Davos in 2017 cost the government $563,584.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s journey to Afghanistan in 2020 cost the country less than $10,000, compared to $59,000 for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The national exchequer spent $44,000 on former President Zardari’s visit in 2009.
