scrutiny<\/a> when it emerged that she used the provincial government jet to make a private visit to London, with opposition leaders questioning the use of an official aircraft for a family event.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has denied the allegation, also insisting that the trip was paid for \u201cout of her own pocket\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing a ceremony in Multan, the chief minister addressed the issue, noting criticism \u201cdirected at Maryam Nawaz\u2019s plane\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is not Maryam Nawaz\u2019s plane; it is the chief minister\u2019s plane. Maryam Nawaz is not going to take it to Raiwind [..] all four chief ministers have this facility,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she had served Punjab for two-and-a-half years. \u201cI wake up, I go to work and come back in the evening [..] sometimes, I am working till so late that I fall asleep with my iPad or phone in my hand\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief minister said that if she promised people a project, \u201cMaryam always delivers double of that,\u201d referring to herself in the third person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf she has committed 1,000 buses, she will give 5,000 [..] but sometimes for these projects, sometimes I have to go places \u2014 by cars or by plane [..] was I not on the rescue boats when catastrophic floods hit Punjab in 2025,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noting that the chief ministers of all four provinces availed the facility, she said, \u201cIt is available to everyone, but the criticism is directed only at Maryam Nawaz\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, as I was coming here, I thought since there has been so much criticism, perhaps I should go by Qingqi or motorcycle, or if there is a metro bus I can take till here from Lahore,\u201d she quipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She then cautioned the audience to be wary that \u201cthe criticism is not aimed at me, [but] rather [at] Punjab\u2019s development and growth. It is directed at the mirror we hold to them [other provinces] every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Maryam said that for the past two and a half years, she had been eager to see other provinces say they were doing better than Punjab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She further held that the \u201cRs9 billion jet\u201d was not hers, but rather belonged to the office of the chief minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTomorrow, if I go to Sargodha and have to go to Rawalpindi [..] How will I get around?\u201d she questioned, stressing that the \u201cmost precious resource for a CM is their time\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that she was heavily criticised solely \u201cbecause I am doing the work and have left the others in a position where they have to save face\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Maryam said her government had invested \u201cRs300bn in the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar<\/em> initiative, Rs200bn in Green Buses [..] we are building the world\u2019s biggest cancer hospital\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWhat have you done?\u201d the chief minister asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking note of the scrutiny around her daughter\u2019s graduation ceremony, she insisted that she had borne the expenses, with the total bill amounting to Rs27.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA chief minister or prime minister is never on leave, and none of their visits is personal. I am working while I am on the plane. I work wherever I am,\u201d CM Maryam claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She further contended that, given the nature of her role, she could not afford to lose contact with her government at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I lose contact with my government on an eight-hour flight and if there is an issue, who is going to handle it?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing the gathering, CM Maryam held up a \u201creceipt\u201d of the expenses on her phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Maryam said she did not owe \u201cthese vloggers and YouTubers a justification\u201d; however, she maintained, \u201cI would still present an explanation in the court of the public.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that when her tenure ends, \u201cI will not be taking this plane home with me\u201d; however, the chief minister maintained that her trips to Brazil, Japan, China or T\u00fcrkiye were undertaken \u201cso I could showcase my government\u2019s progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, yes, I hope that I get to go again on the plane,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Maryam recalled that the day she was set to return to Pakistan, several commercial flights were cancelled due to an issue with the United Kingdom\u2019s air traffic control system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople travelling by commercial flights had to extend their stay by five to six days, and if I did not have the plane, I would have been stuck and lost five to six days. That is not just five to six days for Maryam Nawaz but five to six projects for the people of Punjab,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have time to waste,\u201d CM Maryam said, claiming that she often worked till midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI then wake up at 8am and come back to work. Every waking moment, my office is with me, whether I am in Murree or London.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to the criticism, she further said, \u201cKids, keep at it; may God give you more success in your business. I don\u2019t owe you an answer; I am answerable only to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief minister also took a jibe at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi over his recent visit<\/a> to Lahore, without naming him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cAs you saw, some people from KP came to Punjab; he was sitting on the roadside, but no one barely recognised the individual,\u201d CM Maryam remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted that the visit was \u201cso unsuccessful\u201d that she had to \u201cscold\u201d her deputy commissioners \u201cfor not being able to scrounge up at least 400-500 people for a welcome, but even they could not find anyone willing to come\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Maryam said that the \u201cindividual from KP\u201d was making statements questioning the government\u2019s legitimacy. However, he failed to get people\u2019s attention, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstead, he sat in a police vehicle forcibly and attempted to stage an abduction. He thought perhaps the act would create some drama,\u201d in reference to the KP CM\u2019s claim that he was \u201cabducted\u201d by authorities in Lahore and later \u201cthrown\u201d by the roadside. Punjab government has denied the allegation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE(National Times)- Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday shot back at criticism over her use of an official aircraft to attend a family event in London, claiming that a chief minister\u2019s trips \u201care never personal\u201d and insisting she had borne all trip-related expenses. CM Maryam came under scrutiny when it emerged that she used the provincial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
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