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Sunday November 24, 2024

Imran Khan's chopper rides cost exchequer Rs430m: Cabinet Division

From January to March 2022, Rs35.1 million were spent on former PM's 127 hours of VVIP flights

By Nausheen Yusuf
December 16, 2022
Ousted PM Imran Khan arrives on a helicopter to lead a protest rally in Swabai on May 25, 2022. —AFP
Ousted PM Imran Khan arrives on a helicopter to lead a protest rally in Swabai on May 25, 2022. —AFP

Details of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s helicopter expenses were presented Friday during a Senate session by the Cabinet Division.

In the written reply submitted to the Upper House, the Cabinet Division mentioned that the PTI chief's expenses for his chopper rides from January 2019 to March 2022 cost over Rs430 million. The document further stated that the former prime minister completed a total of 1,579 VVIP mission hours on the copter in the said span of time.

The Cabinet Division further wrote that the VVIP copter flights in 2019, on which the former premier flew, cost over Rs130 million with 479 hours of VVIP flights.

In 2020, as per the written reply, the PTI chief took 522 hours of flights which incurred more than Rs140 million in expenses. While in 2021, the helicopter used by Khan consumed 450 hours of VVIP flights, the cost of which amounted to over Rs120 million.

Meanwhile, the chopper carrying the former prime minister was flown for 127 hours from January to March 2022, during which the flight expenses amounted to Rs35.1 million.

S#PeriodVVIP Mission HoursExpenditure as per hiring rate (Rs275,000 per hour)
1Year-2019
479.8
131.94 m
2Year-2020
522143.55 m
3Year-2021
450.2123.8 m
4Jan-Mar 2022 
127.835.14 m

Total1579.8434.43 m

Earlier this month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) — after completing its probe into the illegal use of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s helicopters — revealed that those, who engaged the chopper for private use, owe Rs90 million to the provincial administration.

The development came in reaction to the usage of choppers used by Khan, former and current provincial and federal ministers, including others.

NAB also wrote to the KP government to recover the cost of all the illegal helicopter trips taken by "influential politicians, public officeholders" and others.

At least 2,000 people had travelled in state helicopters since 2008.

In November this year, KP prepared a draft to amend laws regarding the use of its helicopter and other matters in the province.

Following the amendment, no one will be able to question the chopper's use including who uses it and why is it being used.