Govt, opposition continue verbal duel over amnesty scheme

Marriyum criticises amnesty scheme; Awan accuses Sharifs of economic terrorism

ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition traded another round of barbs as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan says the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has no justification in going to the masses after devastating the economy.

She said this in response to criticism of the government’s amnesty scheme and reports that the PML-N will launch a nationwide movement against the government after Eidul Fitr. She also accused the Sharif family of committing economic terrorism and bleeding the economy.

Earlier, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb fired off another round of criticism at the government over its recently-offered amnesty scheme. “Congratulations to the prime minister for succeeding in his objective of legitimising the billions laundered through his sister Aleema Khan and Jahangir Tareen with his new ‘halaal’ amnesty scheme,” said Marriyum while speaking in Lahore.



Responding to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) criticism over the government’s amnesty scheme, SAPM Awan, while speaking to workers at the state-run news agency, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s long-term initiatives were geared towards betterment of the future and not political gains as was the case in the previous government.

“Previous governments used to make short-term policies to cash them in the next election but Imran Khan had been taking decisions, not for political gains, but for the betterment of the future generations,” she said.

She also invited the opposition to sit with the government and formulate a long-term economic reform programme to address economic challenges of the country. Awan said the government and the opposition should jointly make efforts for the progress and development of the country.

Instead of creating uncertainty and instability in the country, the SAPM said the opposition should play a positive and constructive role. Previous rulers destroyed the country's economy and brought it under the heavy debt burden,” she said, adding that people had expectations from the parliament and the politicians had a responsibility to respond to the challenges faced by the nation.

She said that masses were close to the heart of Prime Minister Imran Khan and she had never seen such a pro-people leader in her entire political career.

PML-N’s riposte

Meanwhile, there was no letup in criticism by the PML-N, with its spokesperson, Marriyum Aurganzeb, saying that public office holders and their families could also benefit from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) amnesty scheme, which was not the case when PML-N offered it.

She contended that the PM had the clause removed so that his sister Aleema Khan could take advantage from the scheme.

“The plunderers and money launderers who surround the premier will profit from this scheme the most because that’s what it was designed for,” she said.

She also criticised the ruling party for not sharing the details of the scheme with parliament. “The PTI has kept the details of the scheme hidden from parliament because they know that any responsible political party would not allow such blatant legalisation of ill-gotten gains,” she remarked.

The former information minister remarked that the amnesty scheme was an opportunity for tax evaders and thieves to flaunt their wealth as ‘the government had opened its own legal money laundering scheme for them’.

“Imran introduced this scheme to legitimise his illegal wealth and properties acquired via campaign fun fraud through 18 illegal bank accounts,” Aurangzeb said.