Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has said that if the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and other government officials, it does not mean that they are guilty.
“We have no objection over the NAB summoning government officials. In fact, it is telling evidence that NAB is independent,” the governor said while speaking to the media after inaugurating a tree plantation campaign by planting saplings in Jallo Park on the Tiger Force Day on Sunday. He was accompanied by Punjab Minister for Forestry Sabtain Khan, PTI leaders and Tiger Force volunteers.
Sarwar said the opposition had always accused NAB of arresting people from the opposition on the directives of government but now the anti-corruption watchdog had summoned the sitting chief minister, which had proved independence and transparency of the institution.
“We have cooperated with NAB earlier and will continue to do so. We believe one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Our provincial ministers Sabtain Khan and Abdul Aleem Khan have already faced NAB proceedings and they were granted bails by courts because they were not found guilty,” he maintained.
He added that as far as the cases against the opposition were concerned, they had been filed prior to the PTI government and the party had nothing to do with them.
Responding to a question, Sarwar said Saudi Arabia had always supported Pakistan in difficult times and the people of both countries shared a cordial relationship.
He said the Punjab government had decided that the final decision about the Tahafuz-e-Islam Bill would not be taken without consulting religious scholars from all schools of thought.
The governor said the Forestry Department of Punjab had already planted 50 million trees. People from all walks of life should participate in the tree plantation campaign, he added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar planted a fig sapling at Shadman Market Park and prayed for the success of the campaign.
Addressing the participants of the ceremony, he congratulated the young members of Tiger Force on the Tiger Force Day and inauguration of the tree plantation campaign. He said more than 1.2 million saplings were being planted across Punjab on Tiger Force Day, adding that as many as 522 ceremonies were being held in this regard across the province.
He highlighted that a target of planting 160,000 saplings at 51 places in Lahore had been set. He said 62 types of saplings were planted on 154 acres of land in order to promote an urban forest in Lahore.
He said the forest was being developed in Shadman Market Park under a Japanese model, adding that more than 9,000 saplings were being planted in the forest which would grow into trees in a few months. He underscored that Miyawaki is a latest technology through which saplings grow 10 times faster as compared to normal plants.
He highlighted that such saplings absorb 40 per cent carbon dioxide, which considerably reduces environmental pollution.
Buzdar appealed to the citizens to properly look after the trees.
The CM announced that the government would also establish a forest on a vast area in Sialkot.
He highlighted that Ravi River Front Urban Development Project would also have six million plants, which would bring a significant positive change in the environment.
Talking to the media, the chief minister said he had performed his duties according to rules, regulations and the laws. He highlighted that earlier he has also appeared before the Supreme Court, Lahore High Court, Islamabad High Court and the FIA and would also appear before NAB now.
In reply to a question, he stated that his conscience was clear and there was nothing to worry about. He stressed that he had neither done any wrongdoing nor would allow anyone to do so. He also said that the CM Office had nothing to do with matter being investigated by the bureau. Many official files were processed on a daily basis and every file was not submitted to the CM, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2020.
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