A new luxury jet for Pervez Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: A new executive jet, valued at 60 million pounds, has been acquired for use by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, raising the number of aircraft in the country's VVIP fleet to 14.

The 10-seater Learjet, a light corporate jet, was one of the three planes whose procurement was approved by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Dawn reported Friday.

American pilots who brought in the jet a couple of days ago have begun training their Pakistani counterparts.
 
The country's VVIP fleet includes the G-IV, Cessna Citation V, Cessna Citation Excel, Learjet 35, Learjet 45 XR, Raytheon Hawker 400, Falcon 20, Cessna Conquest II, Bell 412 helicopters (3) and an MI-17 helicopter.

"Two other jets ordered may land here after the elections. These jets are for the personal use of the president and prime minister," a source said.

One of the world's largest, best selling and well known series of business jets, the Learjet family began with the original six- to eight-seat Lear Jet 23 which first flew on October 1963.

In March, Aziz flew to Uzbekistan in a VVIP plane gifted by Qatar in February.