How does a government manage to take off with an event like Basant and crash-land with a blunder like the Gulfstream in the same month?

The answer lies less in a sudden loss of rationality among the decision-makers and more in the political culture of power, perks, privileges and entitlement that comes with the holding of a public office. The Punjab government should have known better. Now the damage is done.

It all started with a news that the Punjab government had acquired a Gulfstream jet and it was seen flying between Lahore and other cities in the province this month. The gigantic price tag of the jet – just one Google search away – was reported at nearly Rs10 billion. The news of this luxury acquisition sent shockwaves across the media universe. As the decibel level of criticism mounted, the normally voluble Punjab government seemed to have lost its tongue. But when it finally did speak up, it took an axe to its own case. The provincial spokesperson came out with a gem of an explanation: the jet was purchased as part of the fleet for the planned Punjab Air airline!

The furore over this shocking extravagance refuses to die down because of the silence from the shell-shocked Punjab government. This has coincided with a fresh........

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