ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: In 2022, 22 Members of the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s Federal Cabinet undertook 93 foreign visits from April to December last year.
As per the documents, the Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had the highest number of 18 visits to foreign countries in nine months which included three trips each to the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar paid 11 foreign visits to the US, UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, France, and Qatar, costing Rs 12,660,876.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik undertook 7 trips abroad worth Rs 8,287,271.
The Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar paid official tours to 7 countries, and an amount of Rs 9,824,255 was spent on his visits.
The Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha undertook 4 visit – three to the US and one to Qatar – costing Rs 7,036,670.
The former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail visited the US and Qatar for Rs 2,051,943 while Rs 3,791,836 expenses were incurred on two visits of the Federal Minister for Communication Asad Mahmood to Russia and Switzerland.
The Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri’s four foreign visits costed more than Rs 1,587,000 whereas Rs 7,756,426 was spent on the Federal Minister for Defence Production Mohammad Israr Tareen’s five visits.
Likewise, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Faisal Karim Kundi visited Egypt and Turkiye for more than Rs 2,776,000.
The Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel undertook visits to the US and Switzerland, incurring the expenditure of Rs 7,756,000.
The Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Sajid Hussain Turi paid official visits to three countries including Switzerland costing Rs 3,116,788.
The Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq visited Philippines and the United States costing Rs 3,936,208 and the Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir’s two visits to Japan and Iran costed Rs 2,686,343.
The Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Ehsan Ur Rehman Mazari undertook four visits for over Rs 4,600,000 and an expenditure of more than Rs 1,555,000 was incurred on two visits of the IT and Telecommunication Minister Aminul Haq.
An amount of Rs 1,350,000 was spent on two visits of the Maritime Affairs Minister Faisal Sabzwari.
The Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal paid visits to the US, London, China, and Egypt, and according to the documents, his travel expenses were not borne by the ministry.
