Azma Bukhari said Maryam Nawaz would pay the expenses herself and that the receipt should be presented to the public, noting that 23% of Punjab’s population cannot earn Rs8,000 a month, the former federal minister said.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 11th Sep, 2026) National Dialogue Committee leader Fawad Chaudhry said Maryam Nawaz’s private trip to London on a government aircraft cost Rs65 million, asking which account would bear the expense.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad alongside Mahmood Moulvi, Fawad Chaudhry said fuel prices had increased by Rs119 since Feb 26.
He said the government had collected Rs1.1 trillion for electricity, paid Rs1.8 trillion in capacity payments and was paying Rs600 billion in taxes, including capacity payments and other expenses.
Fawad Chaudhry said government funds were now being used to acquire aircraft beyond vehicles, adding that separate aircraft had been obtained for the Punjab chief minister and senior minister.
He said Maryam Nawaz travelled to London on a government aircraft for a private visit costing Rs65 million, while Azma Bukhari claimed that Maryam had paid the amount from her own pocket.
The National Dialogue Committee leader said he had asked Azma Bukhari for proof of payment, but she would not provide it.
He added that the president and interior minister also travel on government aircraft.
Fawad Chaudhry said petrol prices had risen by Rs25 in five days, while poverty in Punjab had increased by 41%.
He said it was being claimed that Maryam Nawaz’s London visit cost approximately Rs65 million, and that the receipt proving the expenses were paid personally should be presented before the public.
He said poverty in Punjab had risen by 41% and more than 23% of the province’s population could not earn even Rs8,000 a month.
He said Pakistan’s food security situation was extremely alarming.
Governance in Pakistan could not improve without transferring political, administrative and financial powers to the lower level, he added. The establishment of new provinces was a fundamental administrative reform requiring serious debate and practical measures.
He said a mechanism for creating new provinces could be devised while maintaining identity, adding that Pakistan’s governance problem could not be resolved without political, administrative and financial devolution.
Fawad Chaudhry said petrol prices had increased by approximately Rs119 since Jan 26 and the government could not use the situation in the middle East as the sole justification for raising petroleum prices.
The impact of higher petrol prices was being felt across Pakistan’s industry, agriculture and every sector, he said. Electricity prices had increased by more than 28% since February, while the government had announced a further 10% increase over the next three months.
He questioned how the economy could function if the price of a commercial electricity unit reached Rs140.
He said the government was placing the burden of taxes on the public and making ordinary people pay for its incompetence.
The government was collecting approximately Rs2 trillion in petroleum levy taxes, while billions of rupees were also being collected from the public through electricity and gas, he said. Despite Rs1.8 trillion in capacity payments, load-shedding was continuing across Pakistan, while the cost of running the Federal government had reached Rs750 billion.
The former federal minister said unnecessary government expenditure and the burden of taxes were being shifted onto the public.
Fawad Chaudhry said ordinary people should be provided relief instead of being made to bear the burden of government luxuries. The reckless use of public resources had pushed Pakistan’s economy to the brink of destruction, he said, adding that rulers were using government resources and aircraft even for private trips.
He said genuine devolution was impossible without transferring powers and resources to local governments.
Prolonging the debate on new provinces by making it controversial would affect the reform process, he said, adding that the debate needed to be moved towards practical measures.
