Fawad accuses PPP of spending Sindh’s NFC share on long march

Govt officials slam opposition for ‘negative politics’, trying to protect their ‘corruption’

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has accused the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led Government of Sindh of using the province’s share from the National Finance Commission (NFC) award on its long march.

In a tweet, the minister said that it would be unjustified if the provincial government complains of not getting its due share after it has spent the money on political activities.

He claimed that once the Huqooq-e-Sindh March ends, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would form its government in Sindh, and only then would the people of the province be able to get facilities at par with those enjoyed by the people of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Fawad was not the only government official to take the opposition to task on Sunday. Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed held a press conference in the federal capital, wherein he termed the opposition’s political activities as a “circus to hide corruption of its leadership”.

He claimed that the “negative politics” of the opposition have been defeated on every front by Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose government sailed through all tests in the parliament, including legislation pertaining to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He also contrasted the “dignified” foreign policy of the PTI-led government and that of the preceding Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

He said that the opposition parties had exploited the nation by “stealing” its money, whereas the incumbent government had announced a mega relief package despite global inflation.

The minister expresses surprise at the opposition’s criticism to the relief package, which he said warranted appreciation. He alluded this to the difference between Prime Minister Imran and the opposition, saying that while the former was focusing on facilitating the poor, the latter only wanted to protect its wealth accumulated through “unfair means”.

Separately, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill also issued a statement to slam the government. He said that those who had sought amnesty through a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) could not harm the government.

He said that the government is under no pressure, rather those who plundered the country were under pressure due to pending corruption and money laundering cases.

He also said that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was fulfilling his passion for public speeches by gathering “hired people”, but it may still help him improve his Urdu by repeating the same speeches.

The special assistant also accused the PPP chairman of being on a campaign to save the “corruption” of former president Asif Ali Zardari. However, he added, the PPP chief would return unsuccessful.