Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's decision to live in a smaller, simpler residence and not in the official Prime Minister's House will save the exorbitant amount of Pakistani Rs 1.85 billion spent annually on the PM House.
It will also send a positive message to the masses that their prime minister is not wasting public money on a life of luxuries and protocol, the Gulf News reported. Imran Khan has, in a number of interviews and press conferences, made it clear that he will neither stay in the PM House nor enjoy VVIP protocol after assuming office.
The cricketer-turned politician has also vowed to ensure that his ministers and provincial chief ministers, where his party is in power, would also be following austerity principles. Pakistan's PM House, though a relatively new building inaugurated by the former deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif only two decades ago when he was elected for a second term, is located on the main Constitution Avenue, covering an area of 135 acres, and luxuriously appointed.
The red-brick, heavily guarded building is modelled after the Mughal era palaces that housed royalty. The PM House features five spacious lawns, a fruit orchard, a number of swimming pools, a banquet hall, media and committee rooms. There are also 10 servants quarters, residences for security officers, staff and members of the Public & Works Department and police.
Inside the PM House, around 50 protocol officers work in their offices. The security budget of the complex is around Rs 980 million, while Rs 700 million are allocated for PM House staff. Similarly, Rs 150 million is spent annually on gifts for visiting dignitaries and guests, and Rs 15 million on renovation and decoration.
Sadly during the tenure of PML-N, budget for PM house kept on mounting successively. For 2014-15, PM office was allocated a heavy sum of Rs 779 million. For the next year 2015-16, it was Rs 881.6 million. For 2016-17, again the budget was increased and reached up to around Rs 900 million. For the financial year 2017-18, another heavy sum of Rs 916 million has been allocated. A country under mammoth debt and meagre economy cannot afford these expenditures for a longer period of time, indeed. Imran Khan's promise to curtail these expenditures will definitely improve his image not only in Pakistan but also all around the world.
According to the PTI leadership, four universities equalling the area of Pakistan's top varsity - Quaid-e-Azam University (spread over 35 acres in the capital) - can be set up in the PM House. Imran Khan has, instead, indicated that he will utilise the PM House land for publicly beneficial purposes, such as education or health.
The PTI leader, in his post-election victory speech had stated his intention to set up house in the Minister's Enclave rather than PM House. Later, it was also suggested that he should opt for the Speaker's House instead of Minister's Enclave.
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