Punjab insists free flour scheme was transparent

Caretaker minister terms ex-PM Abbasi’s allegations of Rs20b sleaze ‘false and fabricated’

LAHORE:

The caretaker Punjab government on Sunday dismissed PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s claim that corruption worth Rs20 billion took place in the state-run free flour distribution campaign.

During a ceremony in Lahore on Saturday, the former prime minister said the political leadership needed to provide a clear vision for the system to function effectively.

He went on to allege that corruption amounting to over Rs20 billion had occurred in the distribution of free flour – a sum which was allocated from a budget of Rs84 billion.

“Recently, Rs84 billion worth of [free] flour was distributed. I am sorry to say that around Rs20 billion was looted,” the PML-N stalwart said. He also questioned the value received by the poor in exchange for the money spent.

He claimed that the coalition leadership’s failure was the reason for the country’s problems. He continued that even those, who were not up to the task, had become leaders now.

Abbasi said that the solution to the country’s problems rested in having competent politicians. He emphasised that the country would not move forward without reforms in the judiciary and bureaucracy.

Even though Abbasi did not specify that the caretaker Punjab government was involved in the corruption, caretaker provincial information minister Amir Mir termed the former premier’s allegations “false and fabricated”.

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Mir said not even a single penny of corruption had taken place in the free flour scheme, and those making such claims were only denting their own reputation. He maintained that the scheme was the most successful one in Punjab’s history, benefitting 30 million deserving people.

“Both the federal and provincial governments contributed funds for the [free flour] scheme, and politicising it is totally unjustified,” he said. Mir added either Abbasi should apologise or provide evidence.

He stressed that there were no corruption allegations against the caretaker Punjab government. “The [caretaker Punjab] government is ready to be held accountable for every penny spent,” he concluded.

On Saturday night, Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said millions of underprivileged individuals in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Islamabad had received free flour during Ramazan with complete transparency and honesty.

“The distribution of flour was supervised by the prime minister himself. He visited various cities to monitor the process,” she added. She praised the success of the “historic” scheme, which was made possible through the hard work of administrative officers, who worked tirelessly day and night.

In a related development, former information minister and PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to launch a probe into the allegations made by Abbasi and hold the caretaker Punjab government accountable.

(WITH INPUT FROM NEWS DESK)