ISLAMABAD: All eight buffaloes belonging to Prime Minister House were sold for Rs2.3 million in an auction on Thursday.

According to sources, a large number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) workers also participated in the auction held at the PM House and made relatively high bids for the animals.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government under its austerity drive had announced it would auction off the eight animals — seven buffaloes and a cow — of the PM House. It also held an auction for the sale of the PM House’s surplus vehicles recently, in which 61 vehicles were sold for around Rs200m. Another auction of some protected vehicles will be held soon.

PML-N workers flock to auction and pay several times the market price in ‘sentiments attached to animals’

The ruling party claims that the buffaloes had been brought to the PM House during the term of the Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N government.

The sources said at least three animals had been purchased by PML-N supporters.

Qalab Ali, a PML-N supporter from Islamabad, purchased a buffalo for Rs385,000, as he gave the highest bid because of his sentiments attached to the animal, they said.

“The market price of this animal is not more than 120,000 but I placed the highest bid because this belonged to Nawaz Sharif,” Mr Ali said.

Another PML-N worker, Hasan Latif from Rawalpindi, purchased another buffalo for Rs350,000.

Mr Latif, who owns a dairy farm, said that he offered the highest bid because of his sentiments attached to the animal, adding that if got a chance he would give this animal as a gift to former PM Sharif.

Another admirer of Mr Sharif, Muhammad Ashfaq from Talagang, purchased a buffalo for Rs268,000.

An officer of the PM House, Muhammad Javed, told reporters that the auction remained successful as all animals had been sold.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2018