Corruption eradicated in first 90 days: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the report of Transparency International should be taken as an opportunity and emphasised the government has been fighting for the rule of law from day one while past regimes had been making deals and compromises.

He was presiding over a meeting of the government spokespersons here. It was learnt that the forum discussed the current political scene, economy and the Transparency International report, health card and corruption cases against Shehbaz Sharif.

Prime Minister noted that no financial scandal had surfaced during his government rule so far and added the promise of eradication of corruption was fulfilled in the first 90 days. He contended unlike PTI government, big scandals like Panama Leaks kept coming to the fore in previous governments.

He directed that Shehbaz Sharif's corruption cases and money laundering cases should be exposed and highlighted so that people should know how the Sharif family carried out money laundering in the name of peons and clerks.

PM Imran called on the spokespersons to keep the details of the properties of the former rulers before the public, after the formation of public office holders and to bring out the properties of the former.

He made it clear that after coming to power his property did not increase: he did not earn anything for his children, whereas Sharifs bought flats in London after taking over the public office.

He noted his government has taken the most steps against corruption adding the law was different for the powerful and the poor in the country while he laid hands on all without any discrimination.

The prime minister said that he had said on the first day that he would lay hands on the perpetrators of corruption. He directed that the people should be made aware of the best economic indicators and facilities like health card. The prime minister said that the public should also be informed about the reports of international organisations on the economy. He said that if no major incident took place then the economy would get better.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain briefed the meeting on the report of Transparency International and said that there was no mention of financial corruption in the report, only issues related to rule of law and state capture were highlighted.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday discussed professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army here. According to PM Office, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran Khan. Professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting, it said in a brief statement.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a high level meeting on his visit to China. Federal ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Hammad Azhar, Shaukat Tarin, Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Trade Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yousuf, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Special Assistant CPEC Khalid Mansoor and senior officers participated.

Separately, PM wished good wishes to former prime minister of Malaysia Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He tweeted, “my prayers and good wishes go to my friend Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his speedy recovery”. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday that the government is making necessary changes in the laws of the civil and criminal justice system to ensure that the justice system in the country is effective and accessible to the poor.

Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a high-level meeting on civil law reforms here. The meeting was briefed in detail on the reforms implemented during the three-year tenure and the future course of action.

He pointed out that for the first time since 1908 the government is changing the civil law while no government in the past has thought of reforming a century-old law. The meeting was further informed that the reforms in the civil justice system and criminal law would not only speed up the process of justice but also the rule of law by electronic evidence, electronic FIRs and other measures and a law for rich and poor: The manifesto will be put into practice.

The meeting was informed that the provision of inheritance certificate is being ensured from January 2021 in Islamabad, June 2021 in Punjab and Sindh and December 2021 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: In Balochistan, too, work is in full swing on the passage of this law.

The forum was told so far, a total of 10,485 families have received inheritance certificates under the new system (over a period of 15 days). Twenty-two counters have been set up in Pakistani embassies abroad to obtain hereditary certificates of overseas Pakistanis, including 12 countries.

The meeting was also informed that under the law for protection of women's inheritance rights, in a short span of one year, 136 out of 198 cases were decided in Islamabad, 122 out of 810 in Punjab and 78 out of 421 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Under the said law, provision of inheritance to women is being ensured.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said people provide national security when the entire nation becomes stakeholder and then it decides to own the country.

Addressing a health card (universal insurance) launching ceremony here, PM Imran described the event a defining moment and said time would prove that it was the path of greatness and a step towards a welfare state on the principles of state of Madina. Under the scheme, all households of Islamabad, Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Tharparkar would be provided free medical treatment at government and private hospitals.

He reminded the audience that Buzdar belonged to a backward tribal area of DG Khan, where at times patients die on the way to a hospital, as their areas lack such facilities.

He pointed out that he had never seen the kind of campaign that was run against Buzdar but when a survey was carried out, he topped in terms of performance among the chief ministers.

The prime minister said before Buzdar, there was a chief minister, who would wear hats and long shoes and would not care about people while would get treatment even for cough abroad and his family members also after one after the other, would also go abroad for treatment.