Murad Saeed, the Federal Minister for Communications, on Monday, responded to the points highlighted by the opposition leaders in the National Assembly.
Saeed stressed that the Pakistani people will continue questioning the past rulers for the looted and plundered wealth of the country.
Govt not linked with Protests
Murad Saeed, addressing the floor of the National Assembly, said that the Imran Khan-led government and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is not associated with the protest demonstration staged outside the London residence of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son.
Federal Minister Murad Saeed Blasting Speech in National Assembly (9 12 19) @MuradSaeedPTI #PTI 1/3 pic.twitter.com/ER75BntOSY
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 9, 2019
The Federal Minister for Communications condemned the protest, and said that we neither support the protest nor encourage protesters to attack the residences of opposition leaders. Murad Saeed maintained that the government must launch a probe into the protest demonstration, as accountability rules must be the same for all and the culture of political victimization must be eradicated.
However, Murad Saeed observed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will have to answer the people of Pakistan on how the properties in London were purchased by the political dynasty of the Sharif family.
Murad Saeed mocked that earlier, the PML-N leadership had maintained that we have no properties in London or Pakistan, but they ended up getting caught in their lies.
Read more: Shahzad Akbar threatens to go public with evidence against Shehbaz Sharif
He explained that the demonstration was organized by the Pakistani Solidarity Front, and while he did not agree with the methods deployed by the protesters, he argued that their questions were genuine and understandable.
Speaking on the opposition’s objections on the issuance of the ordinance, Murad Saeed said that each democratic government in the past issued 119 ordinances a year, however, the PTI-led government has only issued 19 ordinances in the past 18 months.
Shahbaz’s Corruption Scandals
Murad Saeed said that former CM Punjab Shehbaz Sharif plundered the wealth of the country through paper companies, like Good Nature Trading Company. He stressed that the opposition must address the common man’s challenges instead of protecting their leaders held accused in mega-corruption cases.
He stressed that the leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-N must be held accountable for inflicting an unprecedented debt of Rs.24,000 billion upon the country during the past decade.
Federal Minister Murad Saeed Blasting Speech in National Assembly (9 12 19) @MuradSaeedPTI #PTI 2/3 pic.twitter.com/w5cZFfDKvI
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 9, 2019
He also highlighted the Shehbaz Sharif’s use of telegraphic transfer (TTs) for money laundering and spoke at lengths about the foreign properties owned by former rulers. He said, “He had a green bulletproof car that was provided security and was used to transfer his illegal wealth and kickbacks received from government projects.”
The Minister added, “In light of all the evidence collected in this case, Shahzad Akbar posed 18 questions in front of Shehbaz Sharif but he failed to answer a single one.”
The Minister for Communications explained that the plundered wealth was first taken to a designated office in Model Town, where it is counted and laundered abroad, from where it returns back to the country via TT and is invested into real estate.
Read more: Will Shehbaz Sharif answer the 18 questions posed by Shahzad Akbar?
He stressed that Shahbaz Sharif must answer all the questions raised by the evidence revealed with regards to his money laundering activities and the illegal appointments in the Punjab government. The Minister said the opposition should talk about issues pertaining to common man instead of protecting the corruption of their leadership.
Murad Saeed argued that the former rulers had brought the economy of Pakistan into the ICU, and the Imran Khan-led government and its finance team has revived the economy by encouraging growth, ease of doing business, and exports.
Federal Minister Murad Saeed Blasting Speech in National Assembly (9 12 19) @MuradSaeedPTI #PTI 3/3 pic.twitter.com/UEm7wjGA23
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 9, 2019
He saluted the diligence and dedicated of Shahzad Akbar, the Special Adviser to PM on Accountability, for doing a remarkable job at understanding and simplifying the mind-boggling sagas of corruption and money laundering activities of the former rulers.