Imran vows to recover looted money from plunderers

Promises to make investment in education his top priority if elected into power again

KARAK: Hoping that the next government would be led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party’s chief vowed that he would recover the nation’s wealth which had been plundered by a few.

While aiming the barb at the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — whose leader he has oft accused of looting around Rs300 billion from the country — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan identified education as the top priority for his future government, adding that recovered wealth would be redirected to  education.

He said this while delivering a motivational lecture on 'leadership and good governance' at the Khushal Khan Khattak University in Karak on Monday.

Imran pointed out that the subcontinent was once a crucible for literacy and higher education in the region. However, he accused past governments of doing little for education.

“Due to a lack of interest from previous governments and corrupt leaders, Pakistan has been pegged back in the field of education," Imran told students of the Khushal Khan Khattak University.

In a pointed attack on the Punjab government and the federal government, Imran argued that instead of spending large sums of public money to build metros — a reference to the expensive bus links being built in different metropolis of Punjab, the same money could be better on providing education to the public since it would not only create an educated nation but also build a strong country. Reiterating his argument that lack of merit weakens institutions, he said that current education system actively violates principles of merit.

The PTI chief vowed that should his party be elected into power in the next general elections, they would first target the recovery of all public money plundered by ‘thieves’.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2018.