ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Saturday moved a resolution in the National Assembly in line with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s vision to apprise the people of Pakistan about the real state of affairs of Pakistan’s economy.
“That a resolution may be moved to form a Joint Parliamentary Commission to identify the reasons and those responsible for the current fragile financial situation of Pakistan, and submit its report in one month,” the resolution reads.
According to reports, Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the relevant authorities to consult parliament for the formation of commission which was approved in the federal cabinet meeting held on October 11. The commission will investigate causes of the present economic crisis and identify those responsible behind it. After identifying the people responsible behind the prevalent economic crisis, the commission will present relevant recommendations to the government while will then decide on an appropriate action against them.
“I have submitted a resolution in the National Assembly for the constitution of a parliamentary committee to point out those responsible in the former governments of raising the country’s foreign debts from Rs 6,000 billion to Rs 30,000 billion during the past 10 years,” he said, adding the committee should submit its findings in one month and the responsible should be declared ‘national culprits’.
Talking to reporters after attending a session on ‘Justice for Empowerment’ at a hotel in Lahore, the minister said the roots of the current financial crisis were sown by senseless borrowing by the former rulers during the past 10 years. The government would not spare the ‘dacoits’ who had looted the national wealth, he added.
Citing the reasons for the proposed International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package, he said the government was forced to approach the world lending body and friendly countries for the financial assistance as the country had to repay $8 billion loans this year. “The former rulers got foreign loans as if those were never to be paid back. The people would not face such a financial situation at the end of the PTI government’s tenure,” he vowed.
To a question, Fawad said corruption was the only threat to democracy and that his party had waged a war against the menace. To another query, he said the PTI government did not want to pick up the ‘begging bowl’ but the bad policies of the previous regimes had entrapped the country in the economic crisis. The PTI government did not need loans as it had slashed the expenses of the Prime Minister’s House, chief minister houses and the governor houses to mere 10 per cent of the previous expenditures, he added.
Fawad said the PTI government was ambitious to build five million residential units for the people and it would achieve the target during its tenure, adding that the PTI government would provide shelter to the homeless by utilizing all the resources at its disposal.
Fawad claimed that the PTI would clean sweep the October 14 by-polls. It would win all the seats vacated either by its candidates or those of other parties with the public support, he added.
Rejecting the allegations of political manipulation by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, the minister said the PML-N while in power had never conducted free and fair elections in its political history. The July 25 general elections were the first free and fair polls conducted during the recent past, he added. To a question, he said the political future of the PML-N was bleak. “It is faced with internal disruption as formation of another forward bloc within the party is in the offing, besides an existing one in the Punjab Assembly. The PML-N members should choose some new leadership,” he suggested.
The minister said the bureaucracy was bound to respect all the elected members from the treasury and the opposition. Gone were the days when nobody except Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Maryam Nawaz was given respect by the government officials, he said, adding that the parliamentarians had been elected by the people and their feedback was important for the government.
Published in Daily Times, October 14th 2018.
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