Govt committed to eliminating mafias, says Gill

FAISALABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill on Friday said the government is determined to eliminate mafias which are eroding the economic foundation of Pakistan.

He was talking to the media after addressing a public meeting and inaugurating various development projects, including a water filtration plant and his Dera in Chak No 207-RB Majhiwal near Dijkot here.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan is valiantly facing mafias and due to his hectic efforts, cane growers are getting their hard-earned money in time. He exposed the fertilizer mafia and said that intentionally low supply of urea was released to Punjab whereas 298% more urea was given to Sindh.

The vicious objective behind this unfair distribution is to hold this commodity at the crucial stage of wheat sowing and sell it at higher prices later by creating artificial shortage. He said the distribution of fertilizer falls within the preview of 18th Amendment and hence the federal government is unable to take direct action against this mafia. He said the prime minister had issued a stern warning to the fertilizer mafia to ensure urea supply to the growers in time. Otherwise, the government would be forced to take over their mills.

He quoted the earlier crisis of sugar and said Imran Khan stood with the cane growers as the previous rulers had clamped ban on the growers to prepare Gur while trolleys loaded with sugarcane had to wait for weeks in front of sugar mills. When Imran Khan took a stand against this mafia, they threatened to stagger the government.

However, it is a fact that with the intervention of the federal government, the growers got in-time payment of their commodity. He said: “Our people are hoping that Imran Khan should remove all ills of the last 70 years within a period of only 3 years that is practically impossible. However, we could not allow mafias to continue loot and plunder during the period of the PTI government.”

About the Sharif family, he said, It is a family of certified liars. He said Maryam Nawaz has been exposed before the masses in her attempts to vilify institutions. About the release of advertisement to selected TV channels, he said Federal Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry is examining this issue. He has constituted a committee and the issue might be forwarded to the FIA. The government would protect legitimate interests of TV channels and no one will be allowed to subject them to any kind of discrimination.

Earlier, Provincial Minister for Education Murad Raas and Provincial Minister for Minority Affairs Ejaz Aalm Augustine also spoke.