LAHORE, July 20: Following in the footsteps of the previous governments, a minister of the ‘people-friendly’ coalition preferred to travel by a chartered flight for his visit abroad, no matter how much it cost to national kitty and how sharp it is in contrast to his party’s ‘austerity agenda’.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had last month gone to India on an official visit by a chartered plane. According to the rules, no one else except president and prime minister is authorised to charter a plane at state expense unless allowed by the premier, a formality Mr Qureshi had completed.

A source confided to Dawn that Mr Qureshi had been requested (by the Foreign Office) to travel by a scheduled flight but he insisted on a chartered one.

Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq told Dawn a Pakistan Air Force plane (Kasa) was chartered for the minister’s tour of India. He said it was ‘not unusual’ as the foreign ministers in the past had been traveling by charter flights, especially when visiting India officially. He, however, denied any request was forwarded by the Foreign Office to Mr Qureshi to travel by a scheduled flight.

It may be recalled that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had also given a ‘bullet-proof’ vehicle to Mr Qureshi before he took oath as foreign minister.

Though reckless spending at state expense has become a norm of evasion in our ‘real culture’, such conduct on part of a minister representing a democratically-elected government, which also claims to be people-friendly, causes concern, especially at a time when the country is facing the ‘worst’ economic crisis since its inception.

Prime Minister Gilani is also no exception as he took along his over three-dozen strong entourage from Kuala Lumpur, on the conclusion of D-8 summit, to Dubai instead of sending them back to Islamabad, to have a meeting with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari this month.

There are also reports that after reaching Dubai most members of the delegation were accommodated in one of the most expensive hotels in the world. The source informed that millions of rupees had gone down the drain on the ‘unscheduled Dubai trip’.

Similarly, during the recent federal cabinet meetings in Karachi and Lahore a large number of bureaucrats and their staff had to leave Islamabad that cost dearly to the exchequer on account of TA\DA and usage of vehicles.

“Keeping in view the present economic situation in the country the coalition government if not able to adopt austerity measures should at least stop extravagant spending,” advises a senior bureaucrat. Sherry Rehman, the information minister, was not available for her comments despite repeated attempts.