PTI govt ambitious to build 5mn houses: Fawad

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was ambitious to build five million residential units for the people and it would achieve the target during its tenure.

The detractors of Imran Khan had always remained skeptical that he would never become prime minister or set up Shaukat Khaunum Memorial Hospital and Namal University, but he achieved the impossible, he said, adding the PTI government would provide shelter to the homeless by utilizing all the resources at its disposal.

The minister was talking to media persons after attending a session on 'Justice for Empowerment' during Asma Jahangir Conference 2018 here at a hotel.

To a question, Fawad said corruption was the only threat to democracy and his party had waged a war against the menace. The roots of the current financial crisis were sown by senseless borrowing by the former rulers during the past 10 years. The government would not spare the 'dacoits', who had looted the national wealth, he added.

"I have submitted a resolution in the National Assembly for the constitution of a parliamentary committee to determine the accused among the former rulers, who raised the country's foreign debts from Rs 6,000 billion to Rs 30,000 billion during the past 10 years," he said, adding the committee should submit its findings in one month and the responsible should be declared 'national culprits'.

To another query, Fawad said the PTI government did not want to pick up the 'begging bowl', but the bad policies of the previous regimes had entrapped the country in the economic crisis. The PTI government did not need loans as it had slashed the expenses of the Prime Minister's House, chief minister houses and the governor houses to mere 10 per cent of the previous expenditures, he added.

Citing the reasons for the proposed International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package, he said the government was forced to approach the world lending body and friendly countries for the financial assistance as the country had to repay $8 billion loans this year. The former rulers got foreign loans as if those were never to be paid back. The people would not face such a financial situation at the end of the PTI government's tenure, he vowed.

About the by-polls, he claimed that the PTI would clean sweep the October 14 by-polls. It would win all the seats, vacated either by its candidates or those of other parties, with the public support, he added.

Rejecting the allegations of political manipulation by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, the minister said the PML-N while in power had never conducted free and fair elections in its political history. The July 25 general election were the first free and fair polls conducted during the recent past, he added.

To a query, he said the political future of PML-N was bleak. It was faced with internal disruption as formation of another forward bloc within the party was in the offing, besides an existing one in the Punjab Assembly. "The PML-N members should choose some new leadership," he suggested.

About bureaucracy, he said the bureaucracy was bound to respect of all the elected members from the treasury and the opposition. Gone were the days when nobody except Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Maryam Nawaz was given respect by the government officials, he added.

The minister said parliamentarians had been elected by the people and their feedback was important for the government.

He appealed to the nation to make Prime Minister Imran Khan's Clean and Green Pakistan campaign a success for the good of the future generations, urging all to rise above political and personal differences. He also called upon the schoolchildren and youth to take active part in the Clean and Green Pakistan campaign.

Earlier speaking at the AJC 2018 as a panelist, the minister hailed late Asma Jahangir as a great jurist, human rights activist and bar leader. She was a 'rebel' and such rebels were important of a change in the society.

He said he had known Asma for 20 years. She was admired by all for her great service to democracy and the country, he added.

Talking about the public trust deficit about politicians, he said the politicians were responsible for the failure of rule of law. Some 6,000 crore rupees was misappropriated during the Awami National Party (ANP) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the purchase of 'fake bulletproof jackets' for police and defenceless policemen had to pay the cost for that corruption by laying their lives in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, he added.

Responding to the comments of ANP's Bushra Rehman, which she made during the conference as a panelist, he said ANP President Asfandyar Wali stayed abroad for five years while 200 terrorist attacks occurred in KP annually.

The minister said some politicians wrongly portrayed democracy being under threat only when the big fish were apprehended for corruption. For those democracy flourished only if the common man was 'put to the sword', he added.

He said foreign loans of billions of rupees were taken by the past rulers and spent mercilessly but nobody then talked about about democracy.

The minister said the KP's Right to Information Act was regarded as the best in the world, which would be implemented in the entire country in letter and spirit. The act would empower people to have access to information as to which company was granted contract for the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) and how did four companies get contracts of Rs 12,000 crore.

Fawad said there was no threat to democracy. The country was moving in the right direction and a great change had been made possible under Prime Minister Imran Khan's dynamic leadership. The middle class had been mobilized, which would bring a revolution in the country.

Pakistan Peoples Party's Member of the National assembly Nafisa Shah and ANP's Bushra Gohar were also among the panelists.