FAISALABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said the “dacoit politicians” in the opposition benches who looted the exchequer when their respective parties were in the government ganged up fearing being caught in cases of mega corruption registered against them.
“The opposition leaders who had earlier vowed to ‘tear up each other’s bellies to recover looted money’ have now joined hands before any verdict is announced on their pending corruption cases,” he said while addressing at the launch of Qaumi Sehat Card in Faisalabad.
Khan said his undeterred stance against corruption had put the opposition in a haste to save the corrupt mafia.
He accused former president Asif Ali Zardari of “bribing people to buy their loyalties”, observing “this is all happening through stolen money.”
“This is a loud and clear message to all corrupt leaders that I will continue to fight against them,” he said, adding the country could not prosper until the weak and powerful was treated equally before the law.
He said he had joined the politics 25 years ago to wage a war against the corrupt and vowed to ensure rule of law in the country.
He quoted a hadith of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) saying many earlier nations were destroyed where there was one law for the powerful and another for the weak.
The prime minister said the foundation of prosperity and development of a nation was closely linked with rule of law.
Khan said previous rulers used to travel abroad “even for the treatment of their cough”, but showed apathy towards the improvement of the health system for the people.
Referring to the criticism of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on the government’s healthcare scheme, he said his party in power in Sindh since 2008 remained incapable of bringing development in the province.
“He [Bilawal] now says they will spend on hospitals rather than the health cards. But, who stopped them during their over 13-year rule to take such steps for the facilitation of common man,” he questioned.
He said such corrupt leaders looted money from the national exchequer and transferred it into benami accounts to hide their crimes.
He said the healthcare programme was in line with the vision of the state of Medina that cared for the public.
He said the programme was launched to accommodate the people in view of the expensive medical treatment that put an immense burden on them.
He said the population ratio of doctors and nurses in Pakistan was very less compared with the rest of the world.
The prime minister lauded Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid and their team on the launch of the insurance scheme.
He said besides providing health facilities to women, the government would also ensure their right of inheritance.
About his recent visit to China, he said progress on industrialisation was in top focus under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and expressed confidence that it would boost trade activity in the country.
Chief Minister Buzdar said around 1.5 million people of Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Chiniot would benefit from the programme. He said after its launch in Faisalabad Division, about 73 percent of households across Punjab would be able to claim the facility.
Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib said the card was a revolutionary programme providing free medical treatment facilities up to Rs1 million per family annually at selected public and private hospitals.
Apart from Punjab, the programme has so far been launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Tharparkar, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
