THIS refers to reports that the Punjab chief minister and the provincial government are wavering over their decision to treat the former prime minister’s Jati Umra residence as the Punjab chief minister’ camp office.

There exists a CM House and a secretariat in every provincial capital, and the country spends millions on their upkeep and security. Having a private residence in the provincial capital, where the chief minister’s family lived does not justify wastage of the state funds when official residence owned by state exists in same city.

In any case, there should be some defined parameters about the area covered to qualify for its declaration as a camp office. This decadent mindset plagues not just the elected political executive but also the civil and uniformed bureaucracy whose elite wants to continue to live in the past grandeur of the British Raj. They forget that they were then serving an occupying colonial power, but now must serve the people of Pakistan as servants not masters.

Jati Umra spread over hundreds of acres covers an area in excess of colonial Raj-built Governor House. Any family or citizen who can afford to lead such a luxurious lifestyle with houses spread over hundreds of kanals must have the means to afford maintaining and securing them. This should not be a burden on the national exchequer.

There can be only one camp office for the chief minister or even the prime minister and the president, or any other constitutional office-holder.

Whether it be privately owned Jati Umra, Bilawal House, Bani Gala estate, or private residences in Murree, or any other city where state guest house exists, this obnoxious practice of declaring them as camp offices must cease forthwith.

M. Ali

Lahore

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2017