LAHORE: While millions of people in Punjab are struggling with rising inflation, unemployment and collapsed public services, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf says, the government has chosen to spend over Rs7.5 billion on 283 luxury vehicles for VIPs.

In a statement on X on Thursday, PTI Punjab spokesman Shayan Bashir said the luxury vehicles being procured by the Punjab government include 10 bulletproof Toyota Land Cruisers and V8s worth Rs500 million each for senior police officials, 48 protocol cars costing Rs900m, and 76 vehicles for ministers and senior bureaucrats totalling Rs710m.

Beyond that, he said, millions more would be spent on fuel and maintenance. “Luxuries are utterly out of touch with the realities faced by ordinary citizens,” he stated.

The spokesman said the budget documents reveal an alarming escalation in spending for elite offices. He said the Governor House budget had surged by 870 per cent, now set at Rs1.53bn, while provincial ministers’ budgets increased by 204pc to Rs1.07bn. He said the Chief Minister’s Office received a 19pc hike, reaching Rs1.46bn, while the Punjab Assembly’s budget jumped by 47pc to Rs7.38bn. He said the commissioners’ offices overspent some Rs319m last year, and the next fiscal year’s budget stood at Rs1.85bn. The Chief Minister’s Inspection Team’s budget rose by 26pc following ‘unauthorised’ spending of Rs182m.

Demands NAB probe into ‘unauthorised’ spending

The PTI said this ‘reckless’ increase in spending was a political indictment of the government’s priorities. The party alleged the basic sectors such as health, education, and agriculture remained severely underfunded.

The spokesman said the farmers had been abandoned with no procurement policies or crop-loss support, and low-income families bear the brunt of this government’s neglect.The PTI demands a thorough forensic audit by NAB into all luxury vehicle purchases and budget increases. It said the ‘unauthorised’ spending must be immediately reversed, and criminal action be taken against those responsible for diverting public funds.

The party leadership said it would fight this betrayal in the Assembly, in courts and across the province until Punjab’s resources serve the people, not an elite few. “This budget is a clear declaration that the Punjab government values its own luxury far above the survival and dignity of its citizens,” Mr Bashir asserted.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025