-Says NAB recovered over Rs200bn more compared to PML-N, PPP tenures
-Tasks spokespersons to highlight corruption cases of opposition leaders
-Claims nation benefits when institutions function independently
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday that government was not facing any threats from opposition while reiterating accountability of corrupt elements will continue.
He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had recovered at least Rs200 billion more in the last two years compared to the recoveries made during the PML-N and the PPP’s tenures combined.
Taking to Twitter, PM Imran Khan said that when state institutions are allowed to function “independently” and “without political interference”, the nation benefits from it. “Total recoveries by NAB in 2019 & 2020 amount to Rs.389 bn in comparison to previous 10 yrs (2008-2018) recoveries of Rs.104 bn,” the prime minister said.
PM Imran Khan spoke more corruption, saying that the Anti-Corruption in Punjab had recovered Rs206 bn in 27 months in comparison to Rs3 bn in the past 10 years “under corrupt rulers”.
The prime minister said that those were “10 [years] of dark ages under corrupt rulers”.
“These are clear indications of accountability working when institutions are independent,” he claimed. Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a session of the spokespersons where he issued directives to highlight corruption cases of the opposition leaders besides elaborating the achievements of the incumbent government.
The premier chaired a high-level session of the government spokespersons today where the participants decided to respond propaganda of the opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), on every forum. They have also agreed to give a full response to the opposition parties in the upcoming Senate elections.
During the meeting, PM Imran Khan said that the process of accountability will be continued which is crucial for the development of a civilised society. He criticised that the opposition leaders have immediately joined hands to resist accountability process.
While slamming the PDM leadership, the premier said that the opposition leaders have risked the lives of the nationals amid the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The ongoing campaign of the opposition parties for demanding NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] will never be granted.
PM Khan directed the spokespersons to highlight corruption cases of the opposition leaders for make nationals aware of their tactics to loot the national treasury.
He also instructed them to highlight the performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government including the positive economic indicators.
He added that the federal government will be more focused on further improving its performance this year.
NAB Karachi’s performance during 2020: According to a report, in 2020, where other government agencies could not show significant performance, the performance of NAB Karachi was not remarkable either. In 2020, NAB Karachi investigated a record 105 cases and registered more than 150 inquiries, while only 28 references were registered throughout the year.
Surprisingly, the courts could not convict the accused in any case as they were not found guilty. In most of the cases, the suspects were acquitted.
NAB Sindh investigated and made references against leading political leaders of the province; however, it bore no fruit.
The leaders included Sharjeel Inam Memon, Jam Khan Shoro, Owais Qadir, Timur Talpur, Mustafa Kamal, Agha Siraj Durrani, Nisar Khorro, Sikandar Rahputo, Nasir Shah, Murad Ali Shah and Qaim Ali Shah.
NAB Karachi registered the highest number of land fraud references and plea bargain cases. Under the plea bargains, refund agreements worth more than Rs 4 billion were made.
Similarly, NAB Karachi made cases against several governmental departments in the city; however, none of these were concluded.
