Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that former rulers cried of democracy being under threat whenever they were asked to provide accounts of loans they took in their tenures.
Addressing a public ceremony in Gujranwala, Chaudhry said that the past governments of Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) had taken more loans in the last ten years than the loans taken in 70 years combined. "When they are asked about where the loans were spent, they say the democracy is under threat", Chaudhry said. "Now they are criticising the PTI government for not giving subsidy on Hajj; I ask them, what you leaved in the exchequer for us to give subsidy to the pilgrims?" he said.
Referring to the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he said that the three-time prime minister today didn't like the government hospitals. "Nawaz Sharif doesn't like Pakistan's government hospitals; why didn't you build a single hospital during your time where you yourself would have liked to be treated?" he questioned.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan's political struggle spanned over 22 years and the people of Gujranwala, like other parts of the country, had voted for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in large numbers. He said that PPP and PML-N had become united against the PTI government, but PM Khan would offer no deal to them.
"Government's mission is to treat the rich and the poor alike and as per law; these people [former rulers], however, should receive the same treatment in jails as an ordinary, poor inmate does", he said.