• Claims she paid Rs27.5m for use of govt plane, as aircraft belongs to CM’s office, not her
• Says KP CM ‘failed to garner support’ during Punjab tour

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday defended her use of a government aircraft for a visit to London, stressing that she had paid Rs27.5 million from her own pocket for the trip.

Speaking at the inauguration of the electric bus service in Multan, CM Maryam questioned why she alone was being criticised for using an aircraft that belonged to the office of the chief minister.

She also displayed what she described as the payment receipt and said she had also borne the fuel, parking and other charges herself.

“I paid Rs27.5m for the aircraft to attend my daughter’s graduation ceremony,” she said, adding that she was not accountable to vloggers and YouTubers but to Allah and the people.

“Keep criticising me. If your livelihood depends on criticising Maryam Nawaz, then let it continue,” she remarked, apparently referring to criticism over her use of the aircraft.

The chief minister said the aircraft was not her personal property but belonged to the office of the Punjab chief minister and argued that chief ministers needed the facility for official travel. “All four provincial chief ministers have aircraft. Why is only Maryam Nawaz being criticised?” she asked.

She said a chief minister’s time was valuable and that she had to travel to distant parts of the province, including Sargodha, Rawalpindi and Bhakkar, as well as abroad for official visits.

“Should I travel by a Qingqi, motorcycle or Metrobus instead?” she asked, adding that she had travelled on commercial flights before becoming chief minister.

She also cited an incident in London when airports were shut and commercial flights disrupted for three to four days, saying the availability of the aircraft had enabled her to return within two days.

CM Maryam also took a swipe at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government over Sohail Afridi’s recent visit to Punjab, insisting that those accompanying the KP chief minister had failed to garner public support.

She said there had once been claims that Punjab’s youth belonged to the opposition, but the recent visit by people from KP, whom she described as having come to “conquer Punjab”, had received little public response.

“They did not even have a chair to sit on,” she said, referring to a video that she claimed to have received in which, according to her, a vendor refused to lend a chair to the KP chief minister for fear it would be taken away.

CM Maryam said she had admonished the Lahore deputy commissioner for not making arrangements for the visiting chief minister.

“I told him that guests had come and he should have sent at least 400 to 500 people to support them,” she said.

She claimed that the visitors continued using loudspeakers to tell people that Punjab was being governed by a “Form 47 government” but failed to draw a response from the public.

According to CM Maryam, after failing to attract public support, the KP chief minister attempted to create a scene by claiming that he was being kidnapped.

She alleged that he tried to board a Punjab police vehicle but was asked by police officials to leave. “He tried to create a situation, but failed,” she claimed.

CM Maryam also rejected allegations that Punjab had deprived other provinces of their share, saying: “Punjab has not taken anyone’s right; rather, it has given others its own share.”

She also claimed that visitors travelling towards KP had told her that the disappearance of signs of development made it clear they had crossed Punjab’s boundary. “There is no need for a signboard. Once Khyber Pakhtunkhwa begins, you can see broken roads and widespread encroachments,” she claimed.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026