Provincial flying assets across Pakistan’s four provinces vary widely, contrary to claims that every chief minister enjoys similar air travel facilities. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif recently defended her use of a provincial Gulfstream G500 for a private trip to London, stating the jet belongs to the office of the chief minister and that all four provincial leaders have comparable access. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari echoed this, insisting every chief minister possesses an aircraft and the right to use it. Yet detailed accounts from officials in the other provinces reveal clear differences in both type and scale of aviation resources.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa maintains the most limited setup. Press Secretary Sahibzada Hassan Ali confirmed the provincial government owns only a single-engine Eurocopter Écureuil helicopter, bought in 2010. Now known as the Airbus H-125 in its AS-350 B3 variant, the aircraft seats a maximum of three passengers and has logged roughly 700 flying hours. A second helicopter once used by the province crashed during flood rescue work and is no longer available. Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah separately verified that the chief minister has access solely to this helicopter and no fixed-wing plane.
Balochistan operates a more substantial fleet. Spokesperson Shahid Rind stated the province runs a Learjet 45XR that has been in service since 2012 and carries seven passengers. The aircraft, along with other assets, was transferred to Balochistan Aviation, a company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Two helicopters are also listed: an Mi-171 acquired in 2016 that can seat up to 14 but remains grounded, and a Cessna Caravan built in 2007 with capacity for eight.
Sindh similarly fields both fixed-wing and rotary assets. Spokesperson Rasheed Channa reported a Learjet 45 manufactured in 2006 plus two helicopters inducted in 1992. One helicopter holds three to four passengers while the other accommodates six to seven.
Punjab stands apart with its newly acquired Gulfstream G500, previously registered in the United States as N144S and reported to have cost about Rs9 billion. The province already possessed a Hawker 400XP that remains operational. Officials initially linked the Gulfstream to a proposed commercial airline called Air Punjab before acknowledging its use for the chief minister’s official travel.
These contrasting inventories show that while Punjab fields a modern luxury jet, the other provinces rely on older or more limited aircraft, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa having no fixed-wing option at all.
