No reconciliation with ‘Calibri Queen’, corrupt leaders: Gill

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill Wednesday said no reconciliation would be made with ‘Calibri Queen’ and corrupt leaders rather to make them accountable.In response to a statement of Maryam Safdar, he said those who were at the helm of country's affairs for 40 years wanted another term to plunder the national exchequer. He said it was beyond comprehension that the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) seekers either had adopted the threatening attitude or showed humility.

Those who had built assets in the United States of America, Dubai and London wanted to mint more money through illegal means, he added. He said the so-called champions of democracy should be made accountable for their massive corruption.

The PML-N pushed back the country on economic and diplomatic fronts during its five years tenure, he added. Dr Gill said the so-called economic wizard left behind a $20 billion current account deficit while $8 billion from the country's foreign reserves were floated in the market to stabilize dollar prices artificially.

He said the government provide conducive environment for business and all success on diplomatic fronts was indebted to the prime minister's policies. He said the national economy had been stabilized while industries were running on full capacity despite COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Wednesday said the entire nation wanted to see the ‘corrupt’ leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) behind bars for looting national wealth ruthlessly.

In a live telecast from the national television, the minister lashed out at the PMLN leadership for committing ‘systematic’ corruption during their previous tenures. The only way to eliminate corruption was the accountability process, launched by present government in the country, he added.

Farrukh criticised the PMLN for their outcry over the accountability, saying it was only aimed to make the entire process controversial. He asked Maryam Safdar to face accountability courageously instead of seeking adjournments from the court which was hearing her appeal against her conviction in the Avenfield Apartment reference.

He asserted that if Maryam assumed herself innocent and had evidence to prove her innocence then she should plead to the court for hearing her case on regular basis. Farrukh recalled Maryam’s past statement in which she said she did not own any property in Pakistan, as well as, in London. The nation knew that she was the same woman who ridiculed herself by producing fake ‘Qatari’ letters in the court as evidence, he added.

He claimed that Maryam Safdar was the beneficial owner of the Avenfield flats in London and had no money trail to submit in the court. He said the court had restored the conviction of her father Nawaz Sharif in a corruption case, but he, instead of returning to Pakistan, was watching polo matches and strolling Hyde Park in London.

Her uncle Shehbaz Sharif was also a corrupt person who laundered national wealth through Telegraphic Transfers (TTs). He said Maryam, in her media talk, regretted that she was not allowed to go abroad to attend her son’s wedding ceremony. Maryam should tell the people what she was doing here in Pakistan, if her family lived abroad and had wedding ceremonies and business there, he questioned.

Apparently, he said the PML-N leadership just came to Pakistan to rule and loot the nation as they considered politics as a business activity. Commenting on internal rifts in the PMLN for chairmanship of the party, he said both Maryam and her uncle Shehbaz Sharif created confusion in the political landscape.

Farrukh asked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to pass Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, 2021 pending with the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights for the last three months.