LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Punjab on Thursday castigated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for exorbitant spending on its expensive lifestyle at the expense of the masses.
“When the public is deprived of necessities like flour, medicine, and electricity, when farmers are forced to throw their crops on the streets and when millions of youth are unemployed, spending Rs730 million on bullet-proof Mercedes is not just extravagance, but a blatant display of the looting mentality and anti-people governance of heartless rulers,” claimed Shayan Bashir, the head of PTI Punjab Media Cell.
According to him, this anti-public decision comes at a time when 35 million citizens of Punjab are forced to live below the poverty line, 15 percent tax on medicines has made healthcare inaccessible for the poor, 165 mothers are dying per 100,000 births, farmers are being devastated due to a 25 percent increase in fertiliser prices, doubled water bills, and falling wheat prices; and unemployment has crossed 7.5 percent.
“This was money that could have been spent on public welfare, essential services, and the development of the province. There are many regions in Punjab where people do not have access to food or clean drinking water, yet the greed and insatiable appetite of the elite know no bounds,” he said.
According to him, on July 7, 2025, he submitted a request to the Punjab Finance Department seeking details on the purchase, usage, and justification of these luxury vehicles. In response, the department absolved itself of all responsibility, shifting the burden entirely onto other departments. This response suggests either that the department is so incompetent that it released funds without any review or verification, or that this is part of a serious corruption scandal.
Its refusal to provide information is not only unconstitutional, but also clear violation of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017, under which all government departments are obligated to provide information to the public. “I will pursue both public protest and legal/constitutional action against this corruption and exploitative governance, to ensure that corruption is eradicated and the rights of the people are protected,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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