Govt under pressure to strike deals with Nawaz, Zardari: Information minister

No deals for the corrupt as long as Imran is PM: Fawad Chaudhry

MANGLA: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday said plunderers of national wealth would be punished as the government would continue the process of accountability without making any compromise.

Addressing a function organised here in his honour by Chaudhry Zaheer of Potha and Chaudhry Khalid of Barral, the information minister said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan is fully committed to holding the corrupt accountable and will not spare anyone involved in corrupt practices.”

The minister said as per its election manifesto, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was running a clean and transparent government as not a single case of corruption had been reported since it came to power.



“Measures taken by the PTI government since day one to make the country self-sufficient economically, have started yielding results as the exports registered 4.68 per cent increase and imports reduced by 8.88 per cent during December 2018,” said Fawad. “Initial work on constructing five million houses has already started, while thousands of kanals of state land has been retrieved from land grabbers.”

He predicted that the government would create over 50 million jobs in the next five years, adding that it would ensure the protection of the rights of the downtrodden people, besides narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor.

He appealed to the overseas Pakistanis to send remittances through banking channels. “The year 2018 was the year of 'achieving political victory' for the country, while 2019 is for gaining economic success,” he added.

The minister said “unbelievable changes” had occurred in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The PTI led by him [Imran Khan] defeated various mafias in the last general election,” said Fawad. “The country was being ruled by two mafia families. One was the Sharif family, which had made companies abroad on papers, while the other was led by Asif Ali Zardari, who also established firms only on papers for 'devouring commission'.”

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The mafias, he said, wanted the people to come out on the roads to save their ill-gotten money. “The people are not heeding to their calls which is evident from the fact that not even 15 party workers reached the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore when their leader Nawaz Sharif was shifted there,” he added.

He lauded the people of Jhelum for their help in defeating the mafias in the last general election.

He said the area of Mangla could become a tourist destination due to its historic importance, leaving behind the places in Mauritius, Switzerland and Maldives.