OFFICIAL VISIT TA/DA COVERS MARRIAGE GIFTS

[jokingjustice]

TA/DA MEETS GIFTS EXPENSE

September 10, 2026



Mansoor Ali Khan in his talk show September 10, 2026 quoting senior Anchor Dr. Malick touched variation between statement of Punjab Chief Minister and that of a different one from her spokesman and another one from the other Highup. The Chief Minister said she came on holiday, spokesman said she went on official visit. The general simple understanding is that Her Excellency the Chief Minister went to London on Punjab Government plane on personal private visit to attend to her daughter’s graduation. Dr. Malick quoted this trip involved Rs. 1.25 crore expense on parking and fuel believed from the tax payers money. Her spokesman claimed it was an official visit but could not explain what was the official agenda and with whom the CM met there neither the UK media covered that claimed official visit.



2. The most wonderful wording from Mansoor Ali Khan in this was how strange the official visit coincided with the date of graduation ceremony.



3. It was approximately 1990 when as a conscientious citizen I took up the issue that the Banks were madly using costly private courier leaving then the equally efficient much cheaper Pakistan Post’s Urgent Mail Service. It was a good time the Ombudsman office had not still started its journey to decline. God fearing Mr. Justice Aslam Riaz Hussain was the Ombudsman. All the Banks resisted the complaint but Mr. Justice Aslam Riaz realised the issue. A meeting was held in the Pakistan Banking Council. It was like bomb shell when the Director International Mail opened the meeting saying his Department had no complaint on the issue and that it was receiving properly its due share of business from the Banks.



4. My argument that the Department had not even a remotest link (nor even today has) to know as to how much the banking was churning out mailable items and how much out of that was being given to the Department. My this argument was found very realist when the written Decision came directing the Banks to give proper share to the Post Office. Seeing the attitude of the Director in the meeting on behalf of the Department, it is one’s own guess to think how much the Department followed this given opportunity.



5. The fact is courier business flourished with the silent help from “some”. Take a recent example. The Department failed to attempt to get a mega income project when Passports Home Delivery was assigned to a private courier whereas world over official postmail for such purposes is treated as safe in as much case the courts world over sometime decided cases on basis of post marks. A Bank from Karachi too long ago sent me twice two single page letters through private courier. For one it paid Rs. 1800 as far as I can recall whereas the Pakistan Post would had charged Rs. 80/-. The said courier, then, was just locally in Pakistan and had no international vast network. These two letters reached me in Bank’s envelopes affixed with Bahraini postmail stamps, posted from within Bahrain. It appeared the courier gave these to some known trustable passengers coming to Bahrain who posted locally. I raised both time the issue with Pakistan Post never ever to get even an acknowledgement let alone a thanks. Those who read with interest columns of Rauf Klasra or talk show of Kamran Khan well understand.



6. It was a great puzzle for me that the international mail had nothing to do with Urgent Mail Service as it was operating only in within Pakistan, as such why the Director of International Mail came to attend the meeting. Once I was in GPO Karachi when a senior confined me that the then Director had a marriage to attend in Karachi as such he took this meeting opportunity which provided him free air ticket and TA/DA to cover up marriage gifts.