MULTAN – Hurling a warning to the corrupt elements that PML-N workers would encircle them, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif said on Tuesday the country was on the verge of bankruptcy because of massive corruption committed by ‘Ali Baba and 40 thieves’. Addressing a public gathering at Technology College and talking to the parliamentarians and journalists at his tent office in Sports Ground, the chief minister said country’s economy was about to collapse because of worst loadshedding in the history of the country while ill-advised policies of the government also ruined agriculture sector. “Thousands of workers have lost their jobs due to poor state of affairs of the country,” he added. Lashing out at the federal government, he said Punjab had been meted out a step-motherly treatment by President Asif Ali Zardari on the power loadshedding issue. “That’s why I decided to join hands with the masses and set up a tent office,” he added. He said the state affairs could be run with simplicity. “We will have to give equal importance to the ordinary citizens like politicians, bureaucrats, judges and generals if we want to make this country Quaid and Iqbal’s Pakistan,” he asserted. Referring to NFC Award, he said Punjab sacrificed Rs 11 billion for the sake of inter-provincial harmony and got resolved this complex issue. He disclosed that former premier Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani made commitments with him twice regarding equal treatment to all provinces on the issue of loadshedding but President Zardari did not let anyone implement this policy. “So, the masses are on the roads,” he added. When asked about Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa’s resignation, Sharif declined to answer the question, saying the issue was being taken care of by the party and he had come down to Multan for an official meeting. Also reluctant to reply a query on Imran Khan’s allegations, he said his son had given very good answers to Imran’s allegations. Referring to the funds given by the federal government for Multan development projects, he said he had heard that massive amount of Rs 50 billion was given for the uplift of this town but the spending of this money appeared nowhere. “I swear to God, if this amount was given to me, today every single brick of Multan’s streets would have been golden,” he claimed. He alleged that the funds were embezzled and spent on friends instead of development. He said the Punjab Government had also launched a number of development projects in Multan but no one could put even a single charge of allegation. He said he had given a stadium to the residents of Multan in the past and today he was going to give two more stadiums to them. He added that the students would get quality education in engineering and agriculture disciplines at their doorstep. He said the kidney centre and DHQ hospital would prove a blessing for the residents of Multan. Later on, a woman namely Sidra, who was stripped by some influential in presence of police in Khanewal, tried to meet the chief minister and laid down on the ground when cops did not let her see him. The chief minister went to her and listened to her complaint. She also handed over an application to the chief minister, accusing police of registering a case against her instead of the accused.Earlier, the chief minister inaugurated 10 development projects worth Rs. 16.44 billion. The projects include an Agricultural University, Engineering University, District Headquarters Hospital, widening of road from Bahawalpur bypass to Chungi No-9, Chowk Shah Abbas Flyover, Nawaz Sharif General Hospital, Hockey Stadium, Football Stadium and Girls Degree College.