PDM leaders robbed nation of wealth: Govt

The government representatives on Sunday lashed out at the PDM saying the leaders of the 11-party anti-government alliance had robbed the nation of their wealth and now wanted to seek an NRO from the premier.

The PDM held its latest power show in Bahawalpur on Sunday vowing to dislodge the PTI-led government.

Taking a jibe at Maryam Nawaz, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said the PML-N vice president during her address in Bahawalpur forgot to mention that her “royal family” had “robbed” funds of the people of south Punjab in the name of Lahore renovation.

“People of south Punjab were deprived of education, health facilities and electricity while all their resources were spent on Lahore,” the information minister remarked in reaction to Maryam’s speech.

Calling the PML-N a “royal gang”, he said the cultivators in Punjab “loathed” the party as it forced them to starve during its rule.

“The sugarcane growers used to curse the then government policies after loading their crops on trolleys.”

The minster alleged that the PML-N regime had ruined the lives of cotton growers due to the hatred with south Punjab.

"By blocking supply of pesticides and crop seeds, this royal gang forced the farmers to starve," Shibli said.

He maintained that the Jati Umra road had been frequently carpeted and the roads of south Punjab presented a picture of the “ruins of Mohenjo Daro”.

“How can Maryam Nawaz now cry for south Punjab?”

The information minister said the PTI government was fulfilling its promises saying for the first time the chief minister of Punjab was elected from a remote area of south Punjab, instead of Lahore.

He said a separate secretariat had been set up in south Punjab and development works were being carried out on equal basis there.

“People are now satisfied and this fear is the main worry of the corrupt royal family of the PML-N who were ousted by the judiciary and the masses due to their corrupt practices,” Shibli said.

Commenting on the PDM’s Bahawalpur rally, Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Chairman Faisal Javed Khan said the leaders of the anti-government alliance were struggling to get an NRO-like relief from the government.

“The honest and righteous Prime Minister Imran Khan will not give NRO to any corrupt and plunderer or relaxation in their corruption cases,” he said while talking to a private news channel.

Khan said the PDM members of National Assembly would not tender their resignations and that the PTI government would complete its constitutional tenure.

With input from APP