ISLAMABAD: Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hussain on Thursday said the government wants to bring the money stashed abroad in foreign accounts back to Pakistan through a new commission.
Addressing a press conference along with Advisor to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar, the minister said the government is setting up a commission to recover the money back which is in the foreign accounts of the PML-N leaders.
He said the government wants the people of Pakistan be given their money back.
He further said whenever Zardari, Nawaz or Fazlur Rehman have been asked to bring back the money, a propaganda starts in their favour.
About Rs500 billion has been taken back from them inside Pakistan.
We will also bring back money from abroad, Fawad Chaudhry said.
Land worth Rs200 billion that was returned was taken only in Punjab, he added.
He said the PML-N had been patronising the land grabbers for political gains.
The minister said that recently around 10 land mafia gangs had been exposed in Punjab being backed by the PML-N.
The land grabbers were using their influence not only in Punjab but also other parts of the country, the minister added.
Chaudhry Fawad said that PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz should feel embarrassed for backing the land mafia.
The minister said that due to these organised groups of “Qabza Mafia” Pakistan was facing humiliation in the world, adding that it were the same Khokhar brothers who had signed the surety bond of Nawaz Sharif.
He said accountability was being done on two fronts – one against land grabbers in which land worth more than Rs200 billion has been retrieved, and the other one under the supervision of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in which around Rs500 billion were recovered from the corrupt elements.
The minister said the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Inaf (PTI) under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken concrete measures to bring back the laundered money from abroad.
Commenting on the Azmat Saeed headed Commission on Broadsheet scandal, the minister said that Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the commission had been decided and notification would be issued soon.
The minister said that the PML-N had launched an organized campaign on media and other platforms against the commission on the Broadsheet scandal.
Shahzad Akbar on the occasion said that government land was illegally included in the society in the name of Khawaja Asif’s wife and son.
He said the land mafia in Punjab relinquished more than Rs200 billion worth of land. He said Maryam Nawaz herself invited us to bring forth the truth.
Yesterday, Maryam Nawaz went to the Khokhar brothers’ house and assured her political support.
It is clear by now that the qabza mafia is collaborating with the Sharif family, he added. What is it about the operation against the land mafia that is disturbing the Sharifs, he said. Khokhars had 45 kanals out of 47 kanals of government land, he added. The land recovered from Khokhars was worth Rs1,700 crore, he further said.
There was 80 kanals of government land which was being used commercially, he said.
There is no stay on the relinquished area and the government has it, he added.
He said a Supreme Court judge had ordered action against the same group some two years ago.
Daniyal Aziz’s father had 2,400 kanals of land which was handed over in Punjab.
The government took back 5,000 kanals of unnamed land from Chaudhry Tanveer, he said.
5,000 kanals of government land in Pindi was taken back from Chaudhry Tanveer, he added.
Eight kanals and two marlas were recovered from Javed Latif, and a wagon station was also taken back, he said.
To a question, the minister said that the PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman were seeking National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
He said that the government was ready to give them NRO if they all returned the looted public money to the national exchequer.
He said the issue with the PML-N is that they give their reaction before reading the report since they do not have anyone in the party to read the report in English language.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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