‘Nawaz has become ‘Altaf Hussain II’ just to save dirty money’

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Monday said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif had become 'Altaf Hussain II' for saving his money amassed through corrupt practices.

In a tweet, he said the Nawaz Sharif narrative’s mainstay was to plunder national wealth after coming into power, whereas corruption and money laundering were their (Sharif family) identity. He regarded the PMLN Vice President Maryam Safdar as a ‘certified liar’ and said there was no difference between the narrative of her father Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Kulbhushan Jadhav’s arrest in Pakistan was enough to hush them up,” he added.

To appease Modi, he said Nawaz Sharif, being Prime Minister of Pakistan, abstained from meeting the Kashmiri Huriyat leaders when he went to India to attend his oath taking ceremony, and preferred to have an audience with Indian Bollywood actors.

Meanwhile, addressing a ceremony in connection with the PIA flight operation from Faisalabad to Skardu, Farrukh Habib said tourism sector was being actively promoted to strengthen the national economy, and lead the country to progress and prosperity.

The minister appreciated that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has started direct flights from Faisalabad to Skardu which will help promote tourism in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said that Pakistan offers a treasure trove of gorgeous and very diverse natural beauty, adding the government has been taking steps to promote tourism. In this context, he said a new airport will be established in Gilgit.

"As there is a lot of scope for tourism in Pakistan the government is concentrating to provide conducive environment for promotion of tourism industry," he said, and added that about four million people, including tourists from different countries, visited northern areas of Pakistan and the activity promoted the hotel industry also.

Farrukh Habib said that COVID-19 badly hit the global economy including the tourism sector, but the situation was gradually reverting to normalcy as the coronavirus spread was being controlled vigilantly through careful planning and steps. "Therefore, we should take benefit of the favourable atmosphere and bring in precious foreign exchange by promoting tourism," he said.