Imran Khan vows to make corrupt political mafia accountable

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan this week said it was his prime goal to make Pakistan a great nation by making the corrupt and powerful mafia accountable before law.

“To make powerful accountable before law is a Jihad. We will make corrupt political leaders and mafias surrender before rule of law,” the prime minister said in a live telephonic call session with the general public.
This was the third such interactive session titled ‘Aap ka Wazir-e-Azam, Aap ke Sath‘, where the prime minister took live phone calls and responded to the public questions..

Imran Khan vowed to uphold the supremacy of law and justice to make Pakistan great. A nation, he said, could not become strong unless it empowered its weaker sections, and that was the reason he had joined politics and named his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after justice.
He said the government was firm to ensure socio-economic justice in the country. “We are nearing our destination and I will fight these mafias and win”.

The prime minister said a nation could not prosper, whose leaders and prime ministers stole money as it resulted in the weakening of the country’s economy.
He mentioned that the FACTI Panel of the United Nations revealed that some $1,000 billion was illegally transferred from poor to rich countries annually.

The prime minister asked the public to report cases of illegal land grabbing directly to him and mentioned that the government had cleared 21,000 acres of land worth Rs 27 billion from such mafia.
He recalled that Pakistan Muslim League leader Maryam Nawaz sided with a land grabber when the government cleared the state land from illegal occupation after thorough investigation into the records.

He said the land laws were reformed in Islamabad and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa to settle the litigation on land disputes within one year, and assured that the delay in that regard in Punjab would also be taken into view.
The prime minister said his government did not interfere with the working of the judiciary and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as it wanted the rule of law in its true spirit.

On accountability of his party leader Jehangir Tareen, he dismissed the impression that any injustice or victimization was made. He pledged that those who were involved in price hike of sugar would be punished.
He mentioned that the sugar mafia by one rupee (per kilogram) price increase extorted Rs 5 billion from the pockets of masses.
“The sugar industrialists paid RS 22 billion as tax in five years but got Rs 29 billion rupees on account of subsidy. There will be no concession with any mafia,” he added.

“I am answerable before Almighty Allah. How can I put the poor in jails and set the powerful free?” he asked.
Imran Khan said cartels and monopoly as witnessed in case of sugar mills resulted in inflation. The appointment of Shaukat Tareen as finance minister is in view of controlling inflation and increasing the growth rate, he added.

On petroleum prices, he said the government had kept the price of the commodity lowest compared to India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, U.S. Turkey, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Bhutan to cheapest oil so as to avoid burden on consumers.
Worldwide, he said, the prices of commodities went up during pandemic, including gas by 60 percent, food 29 pc, metal 41 pc, crude oil 84 pc, cotton 44 pc, palm oil 54.8 pc, soya bean oil 36.6 pc and sugar 14.5 percent.

According to a Bloomberg report on food inflation and agricultural sub-index, Pakistan still kept the prices low, he added.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said with solid steps, the government had achieved remarkable economic growth in diverse sectors.
Through reforms, the economic losses of public corporations had been reduced from Rs 286 billion to Rs 143 billion, whereas the current account deficit remained in surplus for the last 10 months and the foreign exchange reserves increased to $15.6 billion. He acknowledged that the financial assistance from Saudi Arabia and China also helped Pakistan gain economic stability.
“During the pandemic situation when the whole world is facing financial crunch, our government have saved the economy,” he said.

Imran Khan said now the rupee had strengthened against the dollar at Rs 152, exports increased by 13.5 percent, the Euro bond helped gain $2.5 billion and revenue of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) rose by 11 percent.
Textile and cement industries, he said, witnessed a boom, while the local car manufacturing was recorded at 18 percent. The Karachi Stock Exchange showed bullish trend by 66 percent increase as per Bloomberg and the information technology exports increased by 44 percent.

The prime minister said incentives in housing sectors had encouraged economic activity and the banks were offering loans for the construction of houses. He acknowledged the role of courts in the passage of foreclosure law of banks, which, he said, greatly helped in materialization of low-cost housing project.

Responding to a caller who complained about a delay in a housing project for government employees in Bhara Kahu, he advised his staff to note the matter for further pursuance.
To overcome issues of water shortage and sanitation, he said the government was making master plans of cities and had also allowed vertical construction to maximum accommodate the population.

Imran Khan said lack of planning and civic infrastructure had led to the improper expansion of metropolitan cities. Dams are being built to overcome water scarcity, he said, adding that a special arrangement of water supply was to Islamabad was in progress.

On the issue of Kashmir, the prime minister categorically stated that Pakistan would not resume talks with India till it restored the special status of the Occupied Valley.

“Unless India reverts to its August 5, 2019 action, Pakistan will not hold talks,” he said.
Imran Khan said the Hindu supremacist ideology of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party of India was being condemned at the international level. He lauded the role of Pakistan’s Foreign Office in leading a full campaign to highlight the Kashmir issue globally.

Imran Khan appealed to the nation to follow precautions to contain the spread of the third wave of coronavirus, particularly during the Eid holidays.

“I request you to follow Standard Operating Procedures and particularly use face masks. Take care of your elderly so as to avoid lockdown,” he said.
To a question on reduction of timings in bazaars that led to more crowd, he said the schedule could be reviewed in consultation with National Command and Control Centre (NCOC).
He said Pakistan was working on producing its own COVID-19 vaccine and said “good news was in this regard is in the offing”.