ISLAMABAD - PTI Chairman Imran Khan yesterday called for a third party crackdown on corruption in Punjab and even in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his own party rules.
“Agencies should come to Punjab, and even KP to clean what we have been unable to. But it is more important than ever to cleanse Punjab because the biggest scams will be found there,” Imran told the media at his Bani Gala residence.
He said had the “muk-muka” (unlawful deal) between the PPP and the PML-N not broken down, the Nandipur power plant failure would have gone unnoticed.
“It is at least a Rs22 billion project. We demand a third-party audit, not one on the lines of the Model Town investigation,” the PTI chief maintained. Khan added that these mega corruption scandals had not come to the forefront before because the “Public Accounts Committee and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was controlled by them (the PPP and the PML-N).”
“But today their cooperation has ended and they are at loggerheads over Rangers’ and federal agencies’ action in Sindh,” he viewed.
He said it was intriguing why the Nandipur project was a failure after so much work had been done, and held Punjab Chef Minister Shahbaz Sharif responsible for it. “The metro bus projects by the PML-N government were also extravagant. We also demand an independent audit of the metro projects,. The biggest of all corruption cases is the LNG scandal. We know your friends in Qatar and how you are doing it,” Khan said.
The PTI chairman said “not even revealing the cost of the project was questionable,” adding that the “Sindh government was right in pointing out it produced a major chunk of gas in the country.
He Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif’s popularity has been hitting new heights in the country as the public becomes more and more wary of corrupt politicians, Online news agencies reported.
“When PPP and MQM were targeted, both parties began clamoring for help. I urge the Rangers and agencies to also go to Punjab to investigate the mega scams taking place there,” said the PTI chief
The PTI chairman said: “Not even revealing the cost of the project was questionable,” adding that the “Sindh government was right in pointing out it produced a major chunk of gas in the country.
Imran Khan said action against 5,000 policemen had been initiated in KP, which he said was unprecedented in Pakistan.
Lauding provincial police chief Nasir Khan Durrani, the chairman PTI criticised under investigation former KP minister Ziaullah Afridi for his remarks on the KP Assembly floor a couple of days ago.
“He (Afridi) has been a solid worker for our party but what he did in the KP Assembly was very disappointing. Even the CJP had appreciated the IG,” he added: “I am sacking Ziaullah Afridi from PTI. This is a message for my party… if you are under investigation you have to clear yourself first… not throw dirt and blackmail others.”