PM Shehbaz Sharif paid for UNGA visit from his own pocket

ISLAMABAD, Sep 25 (NNI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set an example of austerity as he did not spend a single penny from national exchequer on his visit to the United States to address the UN General Assembly in New York
The prime minister not only bore all the expenditure of his visit but he also paid from his pocket for the expenditure of the ministers of his delegation who went with him to the US.
As per details, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in New York last week to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). As he embarked on his maiden trip to represent the country at the UNGA, the reports emerged that he would stay at The Plaza, New York.
One-night rent of a single room at the hotel costs around $900 (which roughly translates to Rs221,000).
This sparked a debate online about why the prime minister is wasting money by staying at a five-star hotel with his entourage especially at a time when Pakistan economy is under pressure and the country is ravaged by monster floods.
Now, Muhammad Abubakar Umer, PM Shehbaz’s focal person on digital media, has claimed that the prime minister paid for his own expenses during his stay in New York.
The prime minister took a commercial flight to New York and paid for the ticket from his own pocket.
During his tenures as Punjab chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif had never availed any perks including salary. Shehbaz Sharif as chief minister had also paid all the expenditures from his pocket for the official visits for ten years. NNI