Sharif family left Punjab in deep debt: Firdous

LAHORE: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said the PTI government is committed to composite development of the province and in line with the vision of PM Imran Khan, equal distribution of resources will be ensured in the upcoming budget.

Talking to the media at the DGPR office here on Wednesday, Dr Firdous said that huge loans were borrowed to initiate mega projects in the past and the Sharif family left Punjab in deep debt amounting to Rs1200 billion. The PTI government will complete such incomplete projects because public money was spent on them, she said and added that a technical briefing will be given to the media on Rawalpindi Ring Road Project. The Special Assistant said that PM Imran Khan is the guarantor of public wealth and resources and saved billions of rupees in this project. The PM is determined to ensure transparency, she said.

She said PML-N ‘bondmaids’ and cronies are making hue and cry over the Rawalpindi Ring Road project but they will soon come to know which party and family are involved in this scandal.

The directions given to the NAB and Anti-Corruption will make everything crystal clear, she said. Dr Firdous said both factions of PML-N appear on the media screens to prove their loyalty to their respective masters.

She clarified that PTI has made no investment in bureaucracy by patronising cronies and the past rulers are responsible for any wrongdoing of the bureaucrats because they nourished such characters. The government doesn’t have any personal enmity with anyone but struggling to ensure the rule of law and transparency in the country, she said.

The SACM said the budget doesn’t belong to any party but to people of Pakistan and no member of the assembly will create a hurdle in this regard.

The PTI is the only government that brought out an exposed corruption in its tenure and it is unique having no resemblance in the past.

She said that some MNAs and MPAs have shown some reservations but Jahangir Tareen has himself contradicted and made it clear that he will continue to be a part of the PTI. Dr Firdous said that if anybody has any grievances then the doors of the CM office are open to him.

She said that PTI is a unified family and freedom of expression is a strong culture being prevalent in the party. The party issues should be resolved within the party. Their reservations may be correct but the forum is improper, she said.

To a question, the SACM said that PM is neither blackmailed nor pressurised and PTI can never do any injustice to anybody but everybody will have to be answerable for one’s actions and deeds.

Responding to another question, Dr Firdous said the PTI, as well as the CM, doesn’t target anybody and the PTI has encouraged democratic behaviour in its rank and file. If anybody has some genuine reservations then it should be expressed and the respect and dignity of every party member will be ensured, she said.