ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday expressed the commitment that the accountability process would reach its logical conclusion, laying the foundation of a prosperous Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the recovery of national wealth plundered by the corrupt elements, including the Sharif brothers and Asif Zardari, was imperative to improve the country’s economy.
The Sharif family wanted that the law should follow their whims and they should not be held accountable for the national wealth they had plundered, he said.
He said Pakistan’s total foreign debt from 1947 to 2007 was only $37 billion, which was judiciously utilized to execute many mega projects, including the development of Islamabad as the capital, construction of Mangla and Tarbela dams, Navy bases and Gwadar Deep Seaport, but from the year 2008 to 2018 it touched the whopping $ 97 billion mark.
The question, he said, arose as to where the whopping amount of $60 billion. The big chunk of that amount was misappropriated by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari, who remained in government during the period (2008-2018), he added.
The people would have to endure price hike and economic crunch till the recovery of the looted money from the two former rulers, the minister said.
Referring to the massacre of innocent workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in Model Town Lahore in 2014, he said the behaviour of the then Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was totally different as compared to the today’s regime.
Now in the same Model Town, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz had confined himself in the basement of his house to avoid arrest and that too by making women and children as a shield, he added.
Fawad said it was time now to have discrimination between an act of crime and politics. The nation should not suffer anymore. The opposition leaders were out to conceal the public money misappropriated by them.
Hamza Shehbaz, he said, was being arrested in light of statements of two witnesses. Evidence of wrongdoings by Shehbaz Sharif and his family was available.
Hamza should better cooperate with the National Accountability Court (NAB) and surrender himself before the law, which otherwise would take its own course, he added.
He said when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to power last year, the country was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the loot and plunder of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari. Now Pakistan was moving towards economic stability owing to positive measures taken by the incumbent government, he added.
The PTI government, he said, had taken bold decisions for economic stability.
To a question, the minister said the opposition posed no threat to the government.
Fawad said the PTI government had eased visa restrictions for promoting tourism in the country. The contours of amnesty scheme for declaring assets abroad were being finalized, he added.
He said so far two thirds country was undocumented. The next budget would be industry-friendly as the export sector had already been provided subsidy of Rs 45 billion, he added.
The minister said a crackdown had been launched against the people hoarding dollars, which had brought the value of rupee down.
He criticized PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb for issuing baseless statements.
Responding to a question, Fawad said the government had nothing to do with NAB activities.
He said it was Prime Minister Imran Khan who had raised voice against former MQM chief Altaf Hussainn for his terrorist activities during his prime time. Today’s Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) had changed and was totally different from its past, he added.
