New York (HRNW) 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, media reported.
Talking about the prime minister’s decision to stay at The Plaza, Umer said that during the UNGA, it was the US secret service’s duty to ensure the security of the dignitaries visiting. The guests could only stay at the hotels for which the US secret service had given clearance.
Shehbaz Sharif, during his tenure as Punjab chief minister from 2008-2018, always paid for his own expenses during foreign visits, he claimed.