PM assures stringent accountability of corrupt, rules out any chances for NRO

ISLAMABAD, Oct 24 (APP):Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday reiterated his government’s policy of zero tolerance against corruption and the corrupt practices, promising that all the crooked elements, who had done injustice to the country with their misdeeds and sent it into the debt trap, should not expect any legislation like the defunct National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
The prime minister, in his televised address to the nation, criticized the political opponents for spreading disinformation among the masses, saying that instead of feeling ashamed of what they had done with the country during the last decade, they were now clamouring to save the democracy by forming an alliance.
The political parties, which ruled the country during the last ten years, had left behind a whopping debt of Rs 30,000 billion, he added.
The PTI government, he said, was trying to ease the burden on the common man and finding a panacea for the ills the previous regimes wrecked on all the departments, including the Pakistan International Airlines, Railways and Pakistan Steel Mills.
Those elements knew it very well what they had done with the countrymen, he said, announcing that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government would not succumb to any pressure from any quarter.
He said he wanted to give them a clear message.”Listen with open ears, do whatever you like, if you want to hold protest on a container, we will provide you a container and food or do your antics in the assemblies, but it should be clear to you that there will be no NRO. No corrupt will be spared as I had promised to the people not to let them walk free,” he added.
The prime minister, in a loud and clear message, said the PTI government would hold accountability of all at all costs without giving any NRO. In the past, they were the beneficiaries of Pervez Musharraf’s NRO, he added.
Alluding to the magnitude of foreign debt, the prime minister regretted that a selected group in the society was amassing pelf while others were deprived of the basic needs.
The prime minister said the government was tightening the noose around the persons involved in money laundering. The huge amounts were discovered in the accounts of a falooda maker and dead people, which was a ploy to embezzle public tax money and then the same were laundered abroad, he added.
He said his government was conducting audit of different ailing departments and had not initiated any steps of accountability so far.
The people, who had been crying hoarse, were facing the old cases instituted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), he said, terming their tactics vain attempts to only blackmail the government.
He regretted that unfortunately, nations had to suffer due to the misdeeds of their corrupt rulers and assured the nation that soon difficult times under which the country had been passing through would be over. The country would rise again as it was gifted with immense potential and resources, he added.
The prime minister said the historic unprecedented package given to Pakistan by Saudi Arabia would ease its economic woes and hoped that it would not be a heavy burden if Pakistan needed to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for further bailout package.
He was all praise for the Saudi leadership for their unprecedented support.The Saudi government had pledged a $6 billion package to ease out foreign debt payments and help overcome the current account deficit.
Imran Khan said Pakistan was back on the international stage as well as its stature restored after the Saudi leadership requested Pakistani leadership to play a role in ending the Saudi–Yemen conflict.
He said the government was under pressure to seek assistance from the IMF under tough conditions, which would have overburdened the people. That was why efforts were being made to approach friendly states for financial support and leaving his government with little option to approach the IMF.
He said talks were also underway with two other friendly countries in that regard and he would soon pronounce good news for the countrymen in the coming days. His government had been successful in its efforts to ease the balance of payment crisis, he added.
The prime minister said the government did not want to put pressure of the price-hike on the people, particularly the salaried class. His government had inherited an economy in a shambles, with balance of payment crisis from the past regimes. It was to pay installments of the inherited debts. It was compelled to take remedial measures otherwise the country would face default, he added.
About the Yemen issue, he said the Pakistan government was trying to play the role of a mediator in some way to end the fighting. Pakistan would play its role to unite all those states and in that regard he would break good news to the nation, he added.
The prime minister assured the nation that his government would steer the country out of the current economic crisis through various policy interventions, including strengthening of state institutions, ensuring accountability, creating investment-friendly climate, boosting business and exports, and promoting housing and construction industry.
He said the economic challenges facing the country at present were created mainly due to the poor economic performance and mismanagement by the previous governments over the last ten years.
He said the two political parties [PPP and PML-N], which remained in power over the last ten years, took the country’s debt to an unprecedented level of Rs 30,000 billion in 2018 from Rs 6,000 billion in 2008.
Pakistan’s total debt in 1971, he said, stood at merely Rs 30 billion, a time when the country had witnessed the construction of mega projects like Mangla and Terbela dams as well as other infrastructure projects. Pakistan achieved development and progress in 1960s, he added.
Similarly, Imran Khan pointed out that the country’s power sector circular debt swelled to Rs 1,200 billion from Rs 230 billion in 2009 and Rs 480 billion in 2013.
He said the previous government (of PML-N) even consumed Rs 40 billion from the Workers Welfare Fund as well as the funds for the Pakistan Steel Mills. The previous provincial government of Punjab also mismanaged various accounts and heads.
“These are the things done over the last ten years, which we are correcting. We have yet to implement our own policies,” the prime minister said and wondered how the opposition parties were getting together to what they call to “save the democracy”.
“They [the opposition parties] know that we are going for the audit of Rs 30,000 billion debt which they had accumulated over the last years. They are making hue and cry just to save them from the accountability as the huge amount embezzled by them would be exposed after the audit,” he added.
The prime minister also mentioned losses of Rs 400 billion and Rs 350 billion made by the Pakistan International Airlines and Railways respectively, over the previous years and said the government would go for the financial audit of the state institutions.
Giving an outline of his government’s economic policies, Imran Khan said they were trying to strengthen the trade institutions, helping exporters to make them competitive and attracting investors through a one-window operation coupled with the measures towards ease of doing business in the country.
The prime minister said the government was also focusing on increasing foreign remittances through various incentives for the overseas Pakistanis so that they send their remittances through banking channels.
He said after his discussion with the Saudi leadership during his two days visit of the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia had agreed to reduce visa fees for the Pakistani workers desirous of going to that country for jobs.
The prime minister said his government’s initiative of constructing five million houses for the homeless people would give a big push to 40 allied industries and attract heavy investment, besides creating business and job opportunities for the youth.
Imran Khan also indicated that in the coming days he would introduce a special package aimed at curbing poverty and bringing the poor into a safety net. “I am fully cognizant of the problems faced by the masses. But rest assured the hard days will be over,” he maintained.
He described corruption as a cancer. “When a person undergoes a surgery for cancer, he has to face some difficulty, but after the operation he becomes healthy. In the same way, we have to face some hardships for taking this society out of the cancer of corruption.”
The prime minister said Pakistan was bestowed by Allah Almighty with abundant resources and potential but the investors were shy of bringing in their money in the country in the past only due to the environment of corruption and were taking their investments to other countries like the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.
”Now when we are working hard to make Pakistan an investment-friendly place, the investors will come and invest here,” he said. “The time is not far away when we will be able to offer loans to others instead of going for loans for our country.”