Minister for Communications Murad Saeed Monday said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have collaboratively worked together to loot the country and supported each other during tenures of their respective governments.
While addressing a press conference along with Special Assistant on Accountability Shahzad Akbar, Saeed said that the PML-N and PPP worked together to steal the assets of the country. "Both the parties blamed each other for corruption at first but eventually decided to stay quiet about each other's illegal activities," he said. Prime Minister Imran Khan has already hinted at these parties as 'one' during the last 22 years as they have the same motive of robbing the country to fill their own pockets.
He said that the process of accountability will continue and the plundered amount will be recovered from the corrupt people. The minister said that the recovered amount will be spent on the welfare of the people, particularly to bring improvement in health and education sectors.
He said that recoveries of millions of rupees have alone been made from the National Highway Authority (NHA). "In the last eight months, we have recovered Rs 7.88 billion in the National Highway Authority alone," he claimed. The people of good reputation are being appointed in the institutions to protect the country's assets and keep official records safe, he added.
Saeed claimed that the former minister Ahsan Iqbal had caused a loss of Rs 50 billion to the national exchequer. He also alleged that the former federal minister also gave contracts of different projects to his brother, ignoring all the rules and regulations.
In 2008, President PML-N Shahbaz Sharif issued a notification to declare five houses as the chief minister's houses, he said, adding that security, food, and all other expenses were also asked for. "One police officer's expenses were Rs 40,000 alone," he said. He said that Raiwind was declared a camp office and Rs 260 million were spent on its development.
Shahzad Akbar said that the people who robbed the country will be held accountable. "We are not letting their corruption and money laundering goes," he said, adding, "We will reveal their robberies and corruption with documentary evidence as how money laundering was done and institutions were captured." In the last 10 years, the country's debt increased from Rs 6,000 billion to Rs 30,000 billion due to the two families, he alleged.
While talking about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, he said, "We have only started our work," adding that all departments are equally contributing to the country's wellbeing. He said that the institutions in the country are working independently and the accountability process is afoot. He said that the previous governments gave National Reconciliation Ordinances (NROs) to each other to protect their corruption. "Ayan Ali and Zardari's fake accounts scandal are known to everyone but no action was taken," he added.
He said that the video released by PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz about the accountability judge should be properly investigated to get to the bottom of the matter. He said that the Supreme Court or Islamabad High Court should take notice in this regard.