Rebuttal on purchase of luxury vehicle for Yousaf Raza Gilani from Senate budget leaves questions unanswered

A rebuttal by the Senate Secretariat on reports of the purchase of a luxury vehicle for Senate Chairperson Yousaf Raza Gilani further confused the matter on Monday, essentially confirming the purchase and reiterating the details reported in this connection. The rebuttal was issued after it was reported that a vehicle worth Rs90 million was bought for Gilani from the Senate’s budget. The reports also quoted Gilani as explaining that the car was ordered in May last year, “using savings from the Senate’s budget of the previous year”. These details were also confirmed in the Senate’s rebuttal, which, however, did not mention the cost of the car. The rebuttal said: “The attention of the Senate Secretariat has been drawn to certain media reports regarding the purchase of a vehicle (Land Cruiser) for the honourable Senate chairman.” “These reports are misleading, factually incorrect, and appear to be based on incomplete information and mala fide intentions,” it said, without specifying which information was incorrect. The rebuttal confirmed that the vehicle was purchased in May 2025, during the financial year 2024-2025, adding that it was bought through a “transparent procurement process as part of an overall vehicle replacement plan”. “The purchase included replacement of vehicles allocated to the standing committees chairperson, Senate deputy chairman, leader of the House, the leader of the opposition and the Senate Secretariat,” it added. The rebuttal also confirmed that the “vehicle has been delivered in March 2026, whereas the payment was made from the previous year’s budget savings in May 2025”. It added, “The Senate Secretariat categorically rejects these baseless insinuations and urges media organisations to exercise due diligence and professional responsibility in reporting matters related to state institutions.”