RAWALPINDI - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s newly-elected MNA and Finance Minister-in-waiting Asad Umar on Thursday said that his party had prepared 100 days plan of its government, adding bringing the looted money back to the country would be the top priority of the PTI government.

He said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is reeling under myriad of problems while PTI had decided to bring about positive changes in the board in the best interest of countrymen.

“Elimination of corruption and introduction of transparency in the FBR is also my top priority,” Asad Umar said this while talking to mediamen at the office of Pakistan First Smart Housing Scheme Top City-1 here on Thursday. He was flanked by Chief Executive Top City-1 Kunwar Moeez Khan, Chief Administrator Ghulam Fareed, Chief Operating Officer Brig (Retd) Sikandar Khan, Director Ghulam Yasin, PTI leaders Sardar Zahid and Zahid Rafique.

Asad Umar said that PTI would uproot the menace of corruption from the society. He said PTI Chairman Imran Khan stressed upon bringing changes in FBR and the NAB. He said the world powers had come to know about the disadvantages of stolen money by some influential people from the underdeveloped countries.

Asad said that several countries, including Dubai, United Kingdom and Swiss authorities, had introduced new laws or amended the previous laws regarding the stolen wealth. He said British Ambassador met with PTI chief Imran Khan and discussed the new law of un-explained wealth in the UK. “The Pakistani authorities have never ever even think to exercise this law to bring back the looted money but PTI would be the first party to implement this law by bringing back the looted money from abroad,” he added.

The PTI leader said that housing sector was the most revenue generating sector that was why the PTI government would give priority to this sector. He said it was the constitutional responsibility of government to provide homes to shelter-less citizens or give them the opportunities of employment. He said that mortgage finance was not fully developed and there were many loopholes in it. “I will modify the mortgage finance after assuming charge as finance minister,” he added. To a query regarding the statement of Ahsan Iqbal that PML-N had left an economically stable Pakistan, Asad Umar said: “Ahsan Iqbal is my old friend and he has a good sense of humour. I endorse his joke”.

Earlier, COO Top City-1 Brig (Retd) Sikandar Khan, in his welcome address, said the second largest housing scheme had achieved the highest tax payer award of 2018 from the Punjab Revenue Authority. He said the management of Top City-1 would render all services to PTI to make its social housing project a success. He said at present Pakistan was facing deficit of 9 million houses with addition of 6 million houses on annual basis. He said management had renovated ground in G-11 for the residents, besides financing to repair the tube-wells to overcome water shortage in NA-54.

IMRAN TELLS UK HE WILL RETRIEVE PAK LOOTED WEALTH

Imran Khan has told Britain he will retrieve wealth looted from his country and stashed in the UK by corrupt Pakistani politicians, Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday.

The former cricketer used his first meeting with British officials since his general election win to say he would pursue laundered money.

New anti-corruption UK legislation designed to target oligarchs and international crime could be used to freeze or seize property and assets if there is evidence it was bought with illegal or unexplained wealth.

Attacks on the greed of Pakistan’s dynastic ruling elite have been the cornerstone of the populist anti-corruption drive which has swept Mr Khan to power.

He has denounced the political class for siphoning off money from public sector institutions and contracts and then salting it away overseas. The issue has dominated Pakistan’s politics since the Panama Papers leak linked former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s family to offshore companies and four Park Lane flats.

In the meeting with British High Commissioner Thomas Drew, Mr Khan said it was “our firm resolve to bring back to the country the money laundered to the UK.”

The Telegraph understands no specific requests for investigations or seizures were made during the meeting, but on Thursday the UK said it would “work constructively” with the new leader.

The UK government has brought in new legislation to combat money laundering and corruption as it tries to tackle London’s reputation as a haven for dirty money, much of it from Russia.

Expensive London property bought through shell companies in weakly regulated jurisdictions has long been a favourite way to hide ill-gotten wealth for everyone from mobsters to kleptocrats.

A spokesman for the British High Commission said: “Tackling corruption is a UK government priority and we will continue to work constructively with Pakistan on this issue.”

He said Britain has robust laws “for the recovery of illicit assets where there is evidence to do so”.