Bane or boon: Withdraw gas cess bill, says Imran

Claims it was approved by govt in a desperate manner in the National Assembly

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday demanded withdrawal of the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) bill, claiming it was approved by the government in a desperate attempt by bulldozing the routine parliamentary business in the National Assembly.

“This legislation would cripple the industries. The textile industries already complained against such barricades,” he made the remarks during a news conference. This bill would weaken the federation, he added.



Imran pointed out that in the PTI-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) 70% industrial units have already been shut down and through the new legislation it will further worsen the situation.

He condemned the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for supporting the bill, saying it was against the will of the people of Sindh. Despite delivering speeches against the bill, the PTI chief said, the PPP has supported it which proved that they are protecting each other to serve their personal interest.

As a day before PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari termed the PTI government in K-P as a fake setup, Imran came hard on Zardari and alleged that he also backtracked from his rigging stance before the three-judge inquiry commission.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), he alleged, is a joint venture of Nawaz and Zardari. They are united for protection of their properties in foreign countries, he added.

“Nawaz-Zadari nexus is dangerous for the country,” he said, adding that this is classic example of politics of ‘muk muka’ and they have also altered the charter of democracy as per their vested interests.

“There is a need to free the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) and make it an independent body so it could investigate mega scams against all,” the PTI chief said. He also questioned why the FIA is not investigating Zulfiqar Mirza’s allegations of Rs430 billion against Zardari. He also alleged that the ruling PML-N was misusing funds to influence the elections.

Economic corridor

Imran Khan noted that despite Sharif’s various visits to China no one knows where is the exact map of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

“This route can unite us. We can also bring back the separatist movements into the mainstream, particularly in Balochistan,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2015.