Pak PM House to be turned into a top postgraduate institute: minister

Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood said the land on which Prime Minister House is presently situated will be made into a postgraduate institute. The public was fed up of the previous governments' "royal" ways of living, he said.

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New Delhi: The Pakistan government will turn the palatial PM House here into a campus of a top postgraduate institute as part of the plans to utilise official buildings for public use, the education minister said Thursday. Prime Minister Imran Khan last month said he will not stay in the PM House and moved into his military secretary's three-bedroom house. He has also said that governors will not stay in Governor House as part of his government's efforts to cut down on costs. Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood said the land on which Prime Minister House is presently situated will be made into a postgraduate institute. The public was fed up of the previous governments' "royal" ways of living, the minister was quoted as saying by Geo News. It is important that government officials live in a way that does not waste public money, he said. According to the education minister, the annual expenditure of PM House was Rs 470 million. Therefore, it has been decided that the PM House will be turned into a top-level educational institution, Mehmood said. He added that the land behind PM House will also be used productively. Speaking about reconstruction of other official buildings, Mehmood said Governor House in Lahore will be used as a museum and art gallery, while park on the premises will be opened for public. The Punjab House in Murree will be turned into a tourist complex, while the Governor House in Karachi and the one in Balochistan will be used as museums, he said.