Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz says PTI serious about accountability as people had reposed trust in the party. PHOTO: RADIO PAKISTAN/FILE
“I am not 100% sure but I believe 90% chances are that the report would come before Eid,” the minister said and added, “the issue was not discussed in the cabinet meeting today [May 19] but we can call a special cabinet meeting for this purpose.”
The information minister made these remarks in a post-cabinet press briefing.
“I assure you that we are serious when we talk about accountability because people have given us mandate and if we do not do so, it would mean that we are no different from others,” Faraz remarked, who is also the leader of the house in the Senate.
“I assure you that you will have the decisions and the report in your hand when you come here [Press Information Department] next time and you will be appreciating us,” he added.
The information minister noted speculations were rife that the committee for the investigation of sugar crisis would not be constituted and that the report would not be made public but both the things happened.
“A crime is a crime whether it is for a penny or 100 billion rupees,” he said.
Though the minister did not specify that the forensic report would be made public his statements during the post-cabinet press conference left nothing to the imagination that the report would not be brought to the fore.
On April 28, the federal cabinet had given three weeks to the inquiry commission probing and conducting a forensic investigation of the recent sugar crisis that hit the country earlier this year for submitting its report.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bickered over the delay in the reports as Nawaz-league President Shehbaz Sharif held Prime Minister Imran Khan responsible for the postponement of the forensic report of the commission, describing it as a proof of the premier’s “admission of guilt”.
The government, however, had emphatically stated that the forensic report would not only be completed but made public just like the earlier report.
On April 4, PM Imran had directed the authorities to make the reports of the sugar and wheat crises public, and to further expand the findings, he ordered the committee on sugar to conduct forensic analysis of its findings.
The premier had constituted two high-powered committees under Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Wajid Zia to probe into circumstances that led to the wheat and flour controversy and the reasons behind the increase in sugar prices in the country.
Shocking as it may seem, the leaders of PTI were among those who benefited the most from the sugar crisis in the country.
According to the report, PTI former secretary general Jahangir Khan Tareen and a brother of ex-minister for National Food Security Makhdoom Khusro Bukhtiar were the major beneficiaries.
Cabinet decision on May 19
The information minister observed that the cabinet considered the agenda item pertaining to the outsourcing of the major airports in Pakistan, adding that the airports would be outsourced to the international firms and a committee under Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was formed to overlook the process.
Faraz declared the government was looking for international firms that had experience in operating and managing airports and the purpose of outsourcing was to bring Pakistan’s airports on a par with international standards.
He maintained that the legal framework for the purpose had to be clarified by June 30 so that the government could start tendering and take steps to outsource the airports.
“The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority will act as a regulatory authority,” he said.
Sharing other details of the cabinet meeting, Faraz spoke about the telemetry system for water distribution.
Expressing willingness that the government wanted to introduce a transparent system for water distribution, he said, unfortunately, the telemetry system had been politicised and a specific interest group or status quo had hindered its implementation.
“The prime minister has given strict instructions as the progress of members from Sindh, Punjab, and the federation is very weak,” he said.
“The cabinet has decided to initiate a proper inquiry against them,” he added.
Faraz criticised Shehbaz saying that the PML-N president should respond to the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar’s queries instead of calling for fresh elections.
“Shehbaz Sharif should respond to the serious corruption allegations against him and his family,” he said and added “they [Sharifs] use all sorts of tricks just to escape accountability. If they are in power then politics is good, if they win then elections are good.”
He emphasised that the government would complete its tenure as people of Pakistan had rejected the PML-N in the 2018 general elections.
“People chose Prime Minister Imran Khan with confidence,” he said.
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