ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: A new executive jet has been acquired for use by President Pervez Musharraf, raising the number of aircraft in the VVIP fleet to 14.
The 10-seater Learjet is one of the three planes whose procurement was approved by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz.
“American pilots, who brought the jet here a few days ago, have started training their Pakistani counterparts,” a source said, adding that the training would take two months.
The country’s VVIP fleet includes G-IV, Cessna Citation V, Cessna Citation Excel, Learjet 35, Learjet 45 XR, Raytheon Hawker 400, Falcon 20, Cessna Conquest II, Bell 412 helicopters (3) and an MI-17 helicopter.
“Two other jets ordered may land here after the elections. These jets are for personal use of president and prime minister,” the source said.
He said the value of the new luxury jet was about $60million.
On March 15 this year, Mr Aziz had flown to Uzbekistan in a VVIP plane gifted by Qatar in February. The Airbus-310 aircraft was given official livery and it underwent engineering checks at PIA facilities in Karachi.