Corruption buzz: Govt defends itself, asks PML-N for help

Justifying the government’s position Shah says that prompt action was taken immediately after the revelation.

ISLAMABAD:

Clearly, the government is feeling the pinch from the C-word once again.

Faced with the new buzz phrase of ‘Rs7 billion corruption daily,’ the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party played it both ways in the National Assembly on Thursday.

Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khursheed Shah, the PPP’s chief whip in the assembly, rubbished the figure, saying that, whatever is being said is based on perception, since, if summed up, the estimated corruption for a year would be Rs2,555 billion – and added that previous and current cases against PPP leaders had not produced any evidence,

However, in the same breath, as if to show the government’s sincerity in tackling the problem, Shah asked the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to drop the criticism and assist it instead.

“We are going to invite all stakeholders and the opposition to come forward and guide us in identifying the corrupt and corruption,” he said, in the face of astronomical corruption figures set to be revealed in a National Accountability Bureau report.

Shah also asked the PML-N to submit evidence, if any, of corruption to a four-member committee of ministers, constituted by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. The committee would take input from the stakeholders in order to indentify loopholes and submit its report within a fortnight, he explained.

Justifying the government’s position he said that prompt action was taken immediately after the revelation.

He also gave the example of his predecessor Hamid Saeed Kazmi and the corruption charges against him, saying the court had taken up the case on mere perception and nothing was proved against him despite the fact the minster served a jail term.

“The steps we are taking today are for the future,” he said, while urging the opposition not to indulge in the blame game as done in the past.

Shah was responding to a point raised by Khawaja Asif from the PML-N, who had said, “The government should not drag the house into this controversy since NAB is its own agency and its chairman was handpicked.”

Asif further said that the government had been in power for the last five years and any steps being taken today were a “bit late.”  He also criticised the special committee probing the matter saying, “No committee is needed to indentify corruption.” Corruption is rampant in the Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airlines and the Pakistan Steel Mills, among others, he said, adding that everyone was aware of it as well.

He further said that former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was being tracked by the Federal Investigation Agency over corruption allegations. “Don’t constitute a committee for the remaining three months [of the government],” he advised, adding, “However, you can promise the masses of not being corrupt in future.”

Meanwhile, the house deferred the Gwadar Port Authority Bill, 2012, again due to the absence of Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri. The bill has appeared on the agenda several times in the past as well.

Similarly, an ongoing debate that was initiated following a motion moved by Interior Minister Rehman Malik on September 3 over the country’s law and order situation was not taken up for the second day in a row.

Jamshed Dasti, from the ruling PPP, lashed out at Advisor to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain saying, “A person who cannot even get himself elected has been made advisor.” He alleged that there was rampant corruption in the petroleum sector, yet no action was taken against any corrupt officer.

However, Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi advised him to take up the matter within the PPP, since the advisor belongs to his party.

During the question hour, Parliamentary Secretary for Petroleum and Natural Resources Rukhsana Jamshed Buttar said that the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) was facing major gas shortfall.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2012.