LAHORE: With two days left for his appearance before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore in a Rs 50 million 'bribe' case, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has claimed that he is "ready" to appear before the anti-graft watchdog whenever summoned as his inner self is "clear and transparent" because he never done anything wrong.
"In the capacity of the chief minister, I always performed my duties according to rules, regulations and the law and all affairs of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government are being run according to the rules of business. However, an organised propaganda campaign, especially on the media, is being launched against the PTI from very onset," Buzdar claimed while planting a sapling at the Shadman Market under the federal government's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami campaign and marking the Tiger Force Day on Sunday.
"My inner self is clear, transparent and there is nothing to worry about. I am ready to appear before NAB not for one time only but for ten times if summoned by them," Buzdar pleaded, adding that he always followed and upheld rule of law along with fully implementing the rules of procedure.
Earlier, he added, I also appeared before the Supreme Court, Lahore High Court, Islamabad High Court and FIA and this time I will too appear before the NAB. He claimed that neither he has done any wrongdoing nor would "allow" anyone to do so.
The provincial chief executive asked the media to look into the file and tell him if there is any mentioning of the CM office in it. "There is no link of the CM office anywhere in the file," he asserted, referring to the issuance of illegal liquor licenses to a private hotel case and allegedly receiving Rs 50 million though his relative.
Instead on believing in hearsay, he requested the media to read the file along with documents which would make everything clear. He said many official files are preceded on daily basis and not every file is submitted before the CM.
"Those hurling false accusations should keep on doing their work and we will continue to do our work," he said, pledging he would go to every nook and corner of the province and would work for the uplift and betterment of the province.
It may be mentioned that
It may be mentioned that Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to Lahore on Friday did not pat on the back of his "Wasim Akram-plus" like he did openly during his last month's visit here.
While talking about the tree plantation campaign, the chief minister congratulated the young members of the Tiger Force and disclosed that over 1.2 million saplings were planted across Punjab on the Tiger Force Day.
Provincial Ministers Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Muhammad Sibtain Khan, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Adviser Asif Mehmood, Chairman PHA Lahore Yasir Gillani, Vice Chairman Zeeshan Rasheed, Secretary Forests, Secretary Housing, Secretary Information, DG PHA, concerned officers and youth members of tiger force were also present on the occasion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020