Khawaja Asif says Imran should get flood rehabilitation fund audited
OKARA: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Sunday said the opposition parties did not want investigation into the revelations by Panama Papers as it wanted to resort to protest against it for political point scoring.
He said that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is a man of impeccable character as General (R) Pervez Musharraf could not get any proof of corruption against him.
Talking to newsmen after visiting the Darbar of Hazrat Syed Muhammad Ibrahim (RA), famously known as Dawood Bundagi, here, he said the prime minister had always respected the courts and his family would appear before the inquiry commission on Panama Leaks.
The prime minister's family, he said, had earned money as per laws of foreign countries and their all business transactions were above board.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural ceremony of the office of Union Council No 68 Sher Garh, the minister said today's Pakistan is far better than that of three years ago as its economy and global image had improved a lot. Pervaiz Rashid said the people's mandate should be accepted and the governments should be established as per people's mandate.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had respected the people's mandate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan People's Party had made governments respectively, he added.
He said that the governments formed at federal, provincial and Union Council levels should be accepted as the people had elected them. He said that the government could be classified in three types or levels such as federal, provincial and union council but unfortunately all the three types did not exist at a same time for the last 30 to 35 years.
He said that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif believed in transferring power to the lower level in order to empower local representatives for resolving the issues of the people at the earliest. These representatives, he said, should work hard to serve the people in a more effective and efficient manner.
Pervaiz Rashid said that a clear difference could be witnessed in today's Pakistan and of three years back when there was a severe power crisis in the country while the value of rupee was deteriorating with every passing day.
The PML-N government, he said, had taken all-out measures to overcome power outage and launched a number of energy projects. There would be sufficient electricity in the country in 2018, he maintained.
He said the government had controlled electricity loadshedding for the industry to ensure economic activity in the country and avoid unemployment. The minister said there would be no gas shortage in next winter season as it was now being imported from Qatar and Central Asia countries.
He said had the Motorway not been constructed, there would have been acute traffic problems at Grand Truck Road. The prime minister had always thought for better future of the country.
He said no one had prohibited or restricted Pervez Musharraf from taking action against terrorism as the menace had risen during his dictatorial regime. No electricity generation plant was set up during the Musharraf era.
Pervaiz Rashid appreciated the efforts and hard work of Jugnu Mohsin for the welfare of the area and said other villages should also take lead from the example set by her.
Meanwhile, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif demanded for a forensic audit of the funds raised by the Imran Khan Foundation (IKF) for rehabilitation of flood victims in 2010.
Talking to a private TV channel, the minister said it was the right of the people to know details of the funds collected in the name of flood victims. He said the audit should reveal to the people as how much amount had been collected and where it had been spent besides the balanced amount.
He said the funds had been collected for reconstruction of destroyed houses of the flood victims but where these houses had been built, he questioned the PTI leadership.
Expressing his doubt, the minister asked whether the raised amount had been invested in offshore business.