Pakistan: PM House to be converted into educational institute

The Prime Minister House in Islamabad will be turned into a postgraduate institution, said Pakistan's education minister Shafqat Mehmood on Thursday.

Addressing the media, Mehmood was quoted by Geo News as saying that the people of the country were annoyed by the previous governments' "royal standards" of living and thus Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided that he will not stay in the Prime Minister House and governors will not reside in Governor Houses in an effort to not waste public money.

Mehmood informed that the annual expenditure of the Prime Minister House amounted to 470 million Pakistani rupees. He stated that the property would be turned into a "top-class" educational institute and that the land behind the Prime Minister House would also be judiciously utilised.

The education minister also announced that the governor houses in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces would be converted into museums for the public.

In his previous speeches, Khan chided the previous governments of looting public money and pledged that he would not stay in the Prime Minister House to cut down costs. He also urged the governors across the country to follow suit.

The cricketer-turned-politician underscored that he would restore Pakistan to its former glory by clamping down on corruption and money laundering and propagating the policy of austerity. He also added that he and his ministers will also not use luxury vehicles for commuting and that the public money would be spent only for the upliftment of the poor.