ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Monday said the public would never forgive “Nawaz Sharif and company” for looting the wealth and destroying the economy.
“The country cannot be handed over to those who destroyed the economy in the first instance. The people will not forgive the Sharif family until they return the plundered national wealth,” he said while expressing views on political matters including the meetings of Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazl ur-Rehman at a public gathering.
He said the opposition had no stature of its own, and PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari could not gather even a few hundred people from Jhelum and Pind Dadan Khan that was why he was using children of seminaries for politics through Fazl.
“I ask Bilawal not to do politics of Zardari, he should do politics of Benazir Bhutto and his grandfather.”
He said Fazl and Shehbaz were wandering from pillar to post to protect their politics of loot and plunder, but it was the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government that exposed their real face to the public.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had been saying from day one that all the corrupt people would get united against his government when they would be brought to justice, “and now, all the corrupt elements are in fact uniting against the prime minister”.
Fawad said Sharif and his son had been residing in London for the last many years and questioned who was bearing expenses of their apartments, buildings and vehicles.
The minister said the PTI government had not any personal dispute with the opposition as it just wanted to recover the looted national wealth.
He said Sharif and former finance minister Ishaq Dar were sitting abroad and they had no courage to face courts in Pakistan.
He said Sharif made a luxury property in front of Hyde Park in London, besides billions of rupees were transferred to Shehbaz from fake accounts. “They have looted the people, workers and businessmen of Pakistan.”
Fawad said the PTI government fulfilled the promises it made to the people of this constituency, regretting that Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil had been kept deprived of development for 70 years.
When the PTI government came to power in 2018, it started everything afresh as there were no facilities like streets, roads, drinking water, education and health in the area.
In the Jhelum district, there were only 47 doctors, but now around 800 doctors and paramedics were available there to extend health services to the public, he recalled.
He said the PTI government filled the shortage of teachers in schools, opened passport and EOBI (Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution) offices in Pind Dadan Khan.
The minister said he had suggested the people of the area elect such a representative who has the stature and ability to work for the uplift of the locality.
He said it was unfortunate the whole stature-less opposition was trying to muster the support of others to protect their politics and corrupt practices. “One should not choose a man who cannot elevate his stature and sits on the shoulders of others, thinking that he has risen tall.”
“Bilawal thinks that the children of Madressahs, arranged by Maulana Fazl, will come and raise his stature.”
He said the public support could not be won just by slogans and speeches; adding the development work and welfare-oriented schemes were a must for that.
The minister said the opposition made at least seven attempts to destabilize the PTI government, but it always failed.
Today, he said, Prime Minister Khan elevated the image of Pakistan among the comity of the nations due to his bold and courageous leadership, “and the world listens to the PM attentively.”
He said now Khan would visit Russia, and it was happening after 23 years that a sitting prime minister of Pakistan would be visiting that nation.
Fawad said Khan had become the voice of Ummah as he effectively raised the issues of blasphemy and Islamophobia, which were hurting the sentiments of Muslims, at international forums including the United Nations.
He said the world leaders including Russia President Vladimir Putin endorsed the stance of Prime Minister Khan on the highlighted issues.