10 more bulletproof Mercedes limos ordered
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: Ten more bulletproof Mercedes Benz limos, each costing Rs 70 million, will join the fleet of new 30 Mercedes, being bought from taxpayers’ money for the country’s VIPs and VVIPs.
Information pouring out of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat reveals that two sets of new Mercedes- 30 and 10- are being bought from under different heads to stagger the massive spending on this controversial purchase.
Sources confided to The News that the 10 bulletproof Mercedes were ordered by the PM’s Secretariat last year much prior to the 30, being purchased by the interior ministry.
Out of the 10 Mercedes ordered by the PM office, three have already arrived whereas the remaining seven are in the pipeline and would reach Islamabad soon. The sources said that although the PM secretariat was already in the process of getting 10 new protected Mercedes, it still felt the need for more expensive limos.
However, to avoid purchasing all the required Mercedes from the budget of one particular agency, it had asked the Interior Ministry to move the case for the purchase of additional 30 Mercedes Benz and 20 Land Cruisers for the protection of VIPs and VVIPs.
Interestingly the Interior Ministry has also distributed its share of spending on this controversial purchase by asking the provinces to buy the Land Cruisers and the expensive jammers to be installed in these vehicles. Consequently all this billions of rupees purchases would appear under different heads showing no tally and the actual amount spent.
However, the sources said that the one-time induction of 40 new bulletproof Mercedes would be a new record for the Shaukat Aziz government.
The exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his first term, had also purchased 40 Mercedes Benz for the country’s VVIPs but very few of them were bulletproof. A bulletproof Mercedes costs several times more than the ordinary one. All these vehicles are being purchased in relaxation of a ban on purchase of new vehicles. The prime minister had to use his discretionary power to relax the ban.
nice one mr aziz, I am disgusted at this purchase. with all army everywhere and you had to add these to your armour!
on same path again
having double ministers for every ministry,
the operating cost of government of Pakistan doesnt match the lifestyle of most Pakistanis.
you want to buy these buy it with paying taxes and from your own foking pocket. these will be used for some months by the loved ones and then bought in acution for pricvate use or sale again like all governers and CM and PM does it. import duty free and sell and earn some bucks.
Shame!
