The officers of government of Pakistan proceeding abroad on official assignments and visits are entitled to ‘full economy fare’ as per the rules; it means that when a ticket is booked for an officer, any subsequent change in the itinerary does not entail extra charges. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arbitrarily has started to get ‘excursion/cheapest fares’ for its officers. This means that the Ministry buys special discounted tickets for its officers and in case, there is a change in the itinerary, the officers end up bearing the extra payments. Buying excursion/discounted fare tickets, does save some money; however the officers must not be ‘penalized’ for the change in the itinerary.
This is unjust as the officials are not the ones responsible for any change in their itineraries. Either the Ministry should exempt the officers from paying the extra amount as a result of an unexpected change on the travel plan or they should follow the rules and get ‘full economy tickets’ for the officers.
MODASAR CHAUDHRY,
Lahore, September 10.