KP ups temperature with sustained volley at Punjab govt over jet controversy

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday raised questions over the alleged purchase of a 19-seat luxury jet, which the Punjab government plans to include in its newly proposed airline.

The Punjab government’s apparent acquisition of a high-end Gulfstream business jet has drawn scrutiny after an official job advertisement seeking a pilot specifically trained on the aircraft surfaced, offering rare confirmation of a major purchase that authorities have not publicly acknowledged. Open-source aviation tracking and posts by strategic affairs observers indicate that the provincial government has acquired a 2019-manufactured Gulfstream GVII-G500, a long-range luxury aircraft typically used by heads of state and corporate executives.

The jet, bearing manufacturer serial number 72022 and previously registered in the United States as N144S, has been observed operating VIP flights for Punjab in recent days. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said a day ago it was intended for Air Punjab. Former PML-N stalwarts Miftah Ismail and Mohammad Zubair had also criticised the jet.

In a post on X today, Adviser to the K-P Chief Minister on Finance Muzammil Aslam said that on one hand, the government sold 75% of Pakistan International Airline’s shares for just Rs10 billion, while on the other hand, the Punjab government allegedly purchased a jet for Rs11b.

Ismail also piled on the criticism today as well.

As public attention increasingly turns to state spending and accountability, analysts say the episode highlights a familiar pattern: major decisions involving VIP privileges becoming public only through fragments — flight data, job notices, and open-source intelligence — rather than formal disclosure.