To be Prime Minister Imran Khan has rejected the residence allocated to his position. So where will he stay?
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan’s decision to live in a smaller, simpler residence and not in the official Prime Minister’s House will save the exorbitant amount of Pakistani Rs1.85 billion spent annually on the PM House.
It will also send a positive message to the masses that their prime minister is not wasting public money on a life of luxuries and protocol.
Khan has, in a number of interviews and press conferences, made it clear that he will neither stay in the PM House nor enjoy VVIP protocol after assuming office.
The cricketer-turned-politician has also vowed to ensure that his ministers and provincial chief ministers, where his party is in power, also follow principles austerity.
Pakistan’s PM House, though a relatively new building inaugurated by the former deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif only two decades ago when he was elected for a second term, is located on the main Constitution Avenue, covering an area of 135 acres, and luxuriously appointed.
The red-brick, heavily guarded building is modeled after the Mughal era palaces that housed royalty. The PM House features five spacious lawns, a fruit orchard, a number of swimming pools, a banquet hall, media and committee rooms. There are also 10 servants quarters, residences for security officers, staff and members of the Public & Works Department and police.
Inside the PM House, around 50 protocol officers work in their offices.
The security budget of the complex is around Rs980 million, while Rs700 million is allocated for PM House staff. Similarly, Rs150 million is spent annually on gifts for visiting dignitaries and guests, and Rs15 million on renovation and decoration.
According to the PTI leadership, four universities equalling the area of Pakistan’s top varsity — Quaid-e-Azam University (spread over 35 acres in the capital) — can be set up in the PM House.
Khan has, instead, indicated that he will utilize the PM House land for publicly beneficial purposes, such as education or health.
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SO WHERE WILL IMRAN KHAN STAY?
A house in the Ministers’ Enclave in Islamabad will be declared the official residence of Imran Khan, who is set to become Pakistan’s new prime minister, as his private house is vulnerable to threats.
Imran Khan had thought to use his Banigala residence as his official residence, but the idea was shot down as the security for the waiting- Prime Minister would not be foolproof as the area was open and vulnerable to threats.
A few more options were also given to him, including using an accommodation at the Ministers’ Enclave, which he accepted and asked for the lowest category house at the enclave.
But the security would be difficult in the lowest category enclave and was advised by the senior officers to reside in a house, which he accepted.
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