PTI seeks to grab 'tiger by the tail'

PM Abbasi given 21-day ultimatum to submit official spending details or face music

LAHORE: After having Nawaz Sharif disqualified as the prime minister in the Panamagate case by the apex court, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appears to have turned its guns towards incumbent Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

A PTI leader has given a 21-day ultimatum to Prime Minister Abbasi to provide information about expenses incurred during his foreign tours, his jumbo-sized cabinet, deal made with Qatar to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as appointment of Ali Jahangir Siddiqui as a special assistant to the PM against an investment of $20 million in Airblue (an airline founded by Premier Abbasi), or face the music.



Under Article 91-A of the Constitution and Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002, the prime minister is obligated to provide the information.

PTI’s core committee member, Andleeb Abbas, in her letter to Prime Minister Abbasi has demanded certified copies of the four documents.

A copy of the letter available with The Express Tribune, reads: “Mr Prime Minister, after taking oath, you replaced Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister on August 1, 2017, and made a speech that as a prime minister the Constitution must be respected. And you said ‘one thing that is very close to my heart is the collection of taxes’. We, as taxpayers, want to know why Mr Prime Minister you are not safeguarding taxpayers’ money. [A] few days ago you spoke of putting the house in order. You, Mr Prime Minister, must put your own PM House in order to set an example for others to follow.”



She further writes, “Being the citizen of Pakistan and a taxpayer, under Article 19-A of the Constitution of Pakistan and Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002, I, Andleeb Abbas, need certified information regarding the LNG deal, the jumbo-sized cabinet and the misuse of public resources on your foreign trips under Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002.”

Please provide me certified information under Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002 for the following 4 questions:

Mr Prime Minister, in your recent visit to the United States of America, it has been reported that, Pakistani embassy in US hired four-stretch limousine cars for you and your delegates. These limousines were hired from September 11 to 25, 2017 and they were paid [for] upfront. This has cost the poor nation almost $53,000, while [a] French delegation paid only $2,400 for the same purpose. Why were these limousines hired for extra days and that too for 24 hours per day at the cost of taxpayers’ money?



Mr Prime Minister, you as minister for petroleum and natural resources on March 13, 2015, inked a government-to-government deal with Qatar for the award of a $16 billion contract for LNG supply from a Qatar-based firm without going through the mandatory bidding process, [which is] one of the most controversial deals. [With] the period of contract [to] last till December 2030, the deal is considered expensive and above market price. Similarly, Mr Prime Minister, you were accused of corruption of Rs220 billion for violating provisions of the contract between Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Engro Corporation. Why no international tender was floated for this deal and contract was awarded to [a] Qatari-based company? Please provide me a certified copy of the LNG contract between Pakistan and Qatar.

Mr Prime Minister, considering the country's population of 200 million, Pakistan's cabinet is a huge burden on [the national] exchequer. It is made up of 29 federal ministers, 18 state ministers, 4 advisers with the status of federal minister, five special assistants to the PM and 21 parliamentary secretaries, several among them [are] marginally qualified and shadowed by allegations of corruption. Please provide me certified copies of the record of salaries, perks and privileges paid to the ministers, advisers, special assistants, and parliamentary secretaries.



Mr Prime Minister, in sheer conflict of interest, you appointed Ali Jahangir Siddiqui as a special assistant to the PM, who is also a director at Airblue. Reportedly, he was appointed special assistant to the PM after Jahangir Siddiqui group invested $20 million in Airblue. Why is public money being spent on a business partner? Is this not conflict of interest and corruption?”

Abbas further writes the previous prime minister (Sharif) also abused his office and is now going through the accountability process. If you do not answer why public money is again being misused for personal benefits we would request the court to take action against repeated corrupt and illegal practices.