This has become a routine matter for our President and the PM to go on repetitive foreign visits to UK. These are private visits, for which poor cash starved state exchequer has to foot in the hotel and transportation bills. According to a private TV channel the last such private visit by our President to UK cost us Rs 6 Crores. In order to justify this expense our embassy in UK has to arrange photo sessions with either the UK PM and in case he is not available with other ministers. There have been no benefits that have accrued to this poor country by such visits, nor any diplomatic points scored. On the other hand such frequent visits, which are never undertaken by heads of state or governments of other self respecting foreign nations, are counter-productive. How many such frequent visits have been conducted by the President or PM of India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan or even Nepal should be a case study to prove my point. Why should the tax payers pay for the Presidents visit to Birmingham for his daughters graduation ceremony who has done her ALevel there, or for the PMs visit to attend his sons graduation ceremony. We have reduced this country to be a laughing stock in the international diplomatic community. Foreign donor states and agencies are hesitant to trust our government with aid disbursement on welfare projects and the flood affected.Such frequent visits were not undertaken even by the Viceroy when our country was under British Raj. The President has visited London and Dubai more often than he has visited the provincial capitals of Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta during his tenure. MALIK TARIQ, Lahore, July 20.