Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday once again ruled out an NRO-like deal for the opposition leaders, particularly former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari, underscoring the need for across-the-board accountability.
Addressing a launching ceremony of a plantation drive ‘Plant for Pakistan’ in Balloki, the prime minister promised the nation that his government won’t let the corrupt people go scot-free.
The PM said his government has had enough with the opposition and won’t make any more compromises for the sake of parliament.
Terming the NRO treachery to the country, he assured the countrymen that those who had made the country bankrupt or those who had been involved in the corruption spree, would no longer walk away free. On the occasion, he also inaugurated the establishment of Baloki Natural Reserve Forest. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Federal Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, provincial ministers and high officials were also present.
Kicks off tree plantation drive in Nankana Sahib
Expressing his wonder over functioning of Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) despite being in jail in a number of corruption cases, the Prime Minister said he had never come across such thing in the democratic systems. He said the government had tried its level best to accommodate the opposition and let the parliament work, but now, onwards, they would no longer give concession to any corrupt one.
Those who had been facing NAB cases were summoning the NAB authorities. The opposition was only vainly raising hue and cry in the parliament, he added.
Comparing the past regimes with his PTI government, the Prime Minister said that within five months of his government’s tenure, three ministers had resigned on the allegations of corruption. “It is the change,” he added. On the other hand, he said, those involved in the fake bank accounts by siphoning off worth billions of rupees and owners of illegal properties abroad, had no courage to resign.
Prime minister says giving NRO will be tantamount to high treason
He said that the two NROs, one favouring Nawaz Sharif and the other benefitting Zardari, had historically caused a huge damage to Pakistan, besides sending the country into chronic financial woes. The prime minister, turning to the tree plantation drive, encouraged all the young people to become part of his team, saying the afforestation issue should be taken as a matter of life and death for Pakistan.
The Prime Minister cautioned that Pakistan had been ranked at eight among the worst climate affected countries in the world and if environmental warming was not properly checked, it would pose greater challenges in the upcoming years in terms of water scarcity, melting of glaciers and pollution. Prime Minister Khan said that forest land leased out in Punjab should be retrieved, noting that forest cover in Pakistan is already very low as compared to the rest of the countries in the region. He pointed out that there used to be large forests in Chichawatni, Mianwali and Changa Manga, which have all but disappeared now.
Speaking about the alarming rate at which Pakistan’s forests have been depleted, he said that Pakistan’s forests should be protected at any cost.
“Seventy per cent of Pakistan’s forests have been cut down in the past few years, which has created an imbalance in our environment,” Prime Minister Khan said.
Published in Daily Times, February 10th 2019.
