LAHORE: Beyond the political storm over Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s London trip, the provincial government’s Gulfstream G500 executive jet raises a set of harder, documentary questions about price, procurement, running costs and legal authority, many of which remain unanswered, according to a detailed breakdown presented on ARY News’ On My Radar on Tuesday.
The aircraft is a 2019-model Gulfstream G500. Its approximate international market price is put at $38 million to $42 million, or roughly Rs11 billion. It is counted among the world’s most expensive executive business jets, typically offering luxury seating for around a dozen passengers, meeting areas and VIP facilities.
Reports of the jet’s arrival in Pakistan surfaced last December. At the time, according to the programme, the Punjab government did not clearly say why it had been bought, for how much, or through what procedure.
Aviation experts cited on the programme described the aircraft as a potential white elephant. Even if it flies only five to six hours a week, they estimated, fuel, maintenance, pilots, insurance and other mandatory expenses would cost the Punjab treasury around Rs650 million to Rs750 million a year. With heavier use, the annual bill could approach Rs1 billion.
Pilot costs alone are significant. Journalist Mohammad Malick, on ARY News’ programme Khabar, disclosed that the aircraft is flown by two foreign pilots whose combined monthly salary is $70,000, with one paid $32,000 a month and the other $38,000. Even if the government’s position that they are engaged for only four months is accepted, their salaries for that period come to Rs78.4 million.
The government’s justification, Malick said, is that the pilots will train local crews. He said, however, that Gulfstream experts told his team that pilot training for the type is conducted in the United States, not in Pakistan, lasting 24 days at a minimum cost of $100,000, about Rs28 million, per pilot.
The government later described the jet as part of the Air Punjab project, which plans to build a fleet of bought and leased aircraft. That explanation, the programme argued, raises a basic question: why would a passenger airline buy a costly, roughly 12-seat top-tier business jet?
When Air Punjab was announced, it did not yet hold full approval for flight operations, yet the Gulfstream was being used for the chief minister’s VIP flights between Punjab’s cities, the programme said. Minister of State for Law Barrister Aqeel Malik, himself of the PML-N, said the justifications offered so far were not convincing.
Kamran Khan put ten questions to the Punjab government.
On price and procurement, he asked what the actual price of the G500 was, how many dollars were paid and to which company or owner. He asked which budget head the money came from and whether the Punjab Assembly approved it. Since open competitive bidding is the general rule under Punjab’s procurement regime, he asked whether there was an open tender, where it was advertised, how many bidders came forward and, if the purchase was direct, which clause of the procurement rules allowed it.
On purpose and authority, he asked why a limited-seat VIP jet was chosen for a commercial airline, and under what legal status it was used by the chief minister and provincial government before Air Punjab formally began operations. He asked whether the chief minister is legally permitted to use a government aircraft for private travel and, if so, that the relevant law, rule, cabinet decision or notification be made public. He also asked which officer or body approved the private use before the London trip: the chief minister herself, the Chief Secretary, the Finance Department, the cabinet or another authority.
On payment and precedent, he asked how much the chief minister paid, on what date, into which government account and where the receipt is. He asked what formula set the amount, whether it covered only fuel or also crew, insurance, landing, parking and navigation fees, maintenance, engine reserves and the true hourly operating cost. And he asked whether any other minister or official offering to pay costs could use the jet for a private event and, if not, why a separate rule applies to the chief minister.
On the flight record, he asked how many flights the aircraft has made since purchase, how many were official, how many involved the chief minister and how many related to private or political activity, and why the full logbook has not been released.
Khan noted that Article 19A of the Constitution guarantees citizens access to information of public importance. Citizens have already filed requests about the jet’s price and the chief minister’s travel costs, he said, but the Chief Minister’s Office has stayed silent and cited legal exemptions.
Khan set the price against Punjab’s own development priorities. The province’s 2026-27 development programme allocates Rs9.70 billion to rehabilitate all basic health units and dispensaries, less than the jet’s cost. This year’s budget sets aside Rs8 billion for clean drinking water, and Rs10 billion for rehabilitating 1,500 kilometres of regional railway tracks, according to the programme.
The question, Khan argued, is not only whether the chief minister had the authority to buy the aircraft, but whether the head of a province with so many poor citizens should have spent the money on a luxury jet rather than public services.
Leave a Reply