Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said Pakistan with the grace of Allah Almighty would ultimately be the winner as the corrupt politicians had lost public support. “This is a decisive moment for the nation. The masses are on one side, while these thieves and dacoits are on the other. Insha Allah Pakistan will emerge victorious,” Imran Khan said while addressing a function after the inauguration of tree plantation drive in Ghazi Barotha under his initiative of 10 Billion Tree Tsunami. Criticizing the previous governments, the prime minister said during the last 30 years, big thieves and corrupt politicians had not only hurt the country economically through their loot and plunder of the public resources but destroyed the moral values as well. “They created an impression that corruption is not a bad thing.” He questioned could anybody cite an example of any country, which had achieved progress and development in an atmosphere of corruption. The prime minister said the country was not affected much due to the corruption of `Patwaris’, `Thanedars’ or other government functionaries but corrupt prime ministers or ministers hurt it badly. Special Assistant to the PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, Special Assistant to the PM Shahbaz Gill and Senator Faisal Javed were also present, besides a number of youth and notables from the area. Imran Khan said when a prime minister stole the public money, he would stash it abroad through money laundering. “Stealing the public money causes one loss to the country and the money laundering causes another big one,” he remarked. “When prime ministers steal the public money, their children own palaces abroad and (corrupt) ministers also hold Iqamas (residence permits) of other countries, throwing their own country into a debt trap,” he added. The prime minister said when a country was burdened with debt, it had to seek foreign assistance by compromising its respect and dignity. “While those (rulers) hurt the country, they and their children, son-in-laws and brother-in-laws lead aristocratic lives abroad. “When I see Ishaq Dar and Nawaz Sharif riding a Roll Royce in London, it appears that they were not born in Gwalmandi but in London,” Imran Khan remarked. About the Senate polls, the prime minister said with a market established across the country for the sale and purchase of the members of Parliament, corrupt practices had been going on for the senators’ election for the last 30 years. He was critical of the opposition parties for opposing the government’s efforts for holding the Senate elections through open ballot, saying those, who were in favour of the open ballot process for Senate polls in the past, were now opposing the idea. The opposition parties, he said, had a change of mind after their failure at the Minar-e-Pakistan rally, during FATF (Financial Action Task Force) legislation and in other moves.
Sohail Ali Khan
Islamabad
