Nation should know about properties of newly-appointed officials, says Zubair

Karachi: Former Sindh governor and leader of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Muhammad Zubair has said that the nation should be informed about the number of properties of newly-appointed Federal Finance Adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and State Bank Governor Dr Raza Baqar, which existed in Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference, the PML-N leader said that the federal government had dismissed its entire economic team on the directives of the International Monetary Fund. “Now such a (economic) team has been brought in which will fulfill all the objectives of the IMF even if the country would be pledged for the purpose,” he said.

He said that government had signed its accord with the IMF as the representatives of the IMF were sitting on both the sides, which negotiated the deal. He said both Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Dr Raza Baqar were the representatives of the IMF. “The day these two persons will leave their positions, they will take the first available flight to leave the country,” he said.

He said that in the last two days, the rupee had been devalued by Rs10 as nobody knows how much the value of dollar would be increased if the current trend continued. “The situation of Stock Exchange is also not well as the business there has shrunk by 15 per cent during the last two weeks,” he said.

He said that some 4.1 million people had been pushed below the poverty line during the first nine months of the present federal government while 1.1 million people in the country had been rendered jobless,

He said that poor people in the country had become ultimate sufferers as the government had been intending to impose new taxes to the tune of millions of rupees. “We wish the present government should fulfill its five-year constitutional term but at the same time 210 million people of the country could not be left at their mercy,” said former Sindh governor while responding to a question.

Zubair said that they would finalise a strategy against the government after consulting other opposition parties in the country. “Peoples’ reaction could be diverted towards us if we continue to keep our silence,” said Zubair.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan in the past had termed people as dacoits who availed the amnesty scheme but Imran Khan had himself emerged as the biggest dacoit as he had become a beneficiary of the similar scheme in the year 2000 during Pervez Musharraf’s regime when he had declared his flat in London. “The second biggest personality who also became a beneficiary of the scheme is Aleema Baji as value of her assets has been increased to several billions of rupees,” said Zubair. He said that PM Imran Khan was under obligation to inform the people about his achievement in replenishing the state exchequer after preventing corrupt practices in the country as in the past he had used to state that corruption to the tune of Rs 10 billion took place on a daily basis.

He said that former federal finance minister Asad Umer had been dismissed from the ministerial position owing to his differences with PTI leader Jahangir Tareen. He said that Jahangir Tareen had been disqualified by the apex judiciary as he had been involved in numerous irregularities including sugar cartel as Asad Umer was used to criticize Tareen. The new position of Umer being chairman of NA’s Standing Committee on Finance would enable him to criticize the ill-advised policies of the present rulers.