Imran pledges to confiscate ‘ill-gotten’ assets

MIANWALI: Prime Minister Imran Khan has reiterated his government’s resolve to confiscate the properties of previous rulers made out of “looted” wealth and bring back the money that was laundered abroad to spend on poverty alleviation initiatives.

Addressing on Friday the launch ceremony of the Mianwali Express — which connects Lahore and Mianwali — Khan vowed that during his visits to Western countries, he would urge their leaderships to stop the flow of corruption money to their countries if they wanted that money to be spent to alleviate poverty in developing countries.

The Prime Minister told the gathering, waving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) flags and chanting slogans, that he would fulfil the promise he had made during his election campaign to eliminate corruption from the country.

He said those who looted the country would be made accountable and the money recovered from them would be spent on the public’s welfare. He said the government had already started action against the Benami properties and would also bring back the looted money from abroad, though it might take some time. He said the money recovered from the sale of Benami properties would be diverted towards the government’s flagship anti-poverty programme Ehsaas.

The Prime Minister thanked Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for launching another train for the people of Mianwali on his directives. He said the facilitation of the common man was the only focus of the government.

As the economic situation was easing consequent to loans from some friendly countries, the government would revamp the whole rail network. He said the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project would revolutionise the railway system by reducing the Lahore-Karachi travel time to eight hours as well as thinning the burden on road network.

Reiterating his government’s priority to education and health sectors, the Prime Minister said the government would uplift all the areas which had been neglected in the past. Prime Minister Khan said he would ensure teachers at all the schools of Mianwali and the residents get clean drinking water and quality healthcare at hospitals. He also assured the people of keeping his word for generating job opportunities for the people of Mianwali.

He said as per his pledges, his government would reform the police system and Kutchery and the people would see a clear difference after the incumbent government completed its five-year term. He said he desired every youngster to get skill training so that they could find jobs easily.

Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and Commerce Adviser Abdul Razzak Dawood also attended the event that marked the ribbon cutting by the Prime Minister to open the second Lahore-Mianwali train facility for the people of the city.