LAHORE    -   Federal Minister for Interior Brig (retd) ijaz Ahmad Shah has said that anti-money laundering legislation was done in the larger interest of the country rather than benefiting any political party.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a Passport Office at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Friday, he said the laws were not meant to target any political party.  He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politicians would also have to face these laws.

To a question, the minister said no one was above the law and accountability, adding that all efforts were being made for betterment of economy. Brig Ijaz Shah said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was committed to revival of national economy and he was giving 60 per cent of his time for the purpose.  He said that the PTI government was more into resolving the problems faced by the business community, adding that no other government had done much for the business community in the past. 

The interior minister said the services being provide at the LCCI under ‘One Window Smart Services’ are a role model for other chambers of Pakistan. He said the FIA cyber wing needed to be staffed, adding that few years back nobody was aware of teh cyber-crimes. 

“This is a new phenomenon and the FIA was doing its best to control online crimes, frauds being committed through cyber space,” he added.  Ijaz Shah said there was no harm in giving an account of the wealth you have and where you earned it. The new laws regarding money laundering being passed by the government were not meant to hurt common people, but those who were earning illegal money and were involved in laundering it. He said the Ministry of Interior was working hard to protect the interests of the business community. 

LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Shiekh said that the Chamber had started working on an idea of ‘One Window Smart Services’ for the facilitation of its members and also contributing positively to further improve the ranking of Pakistan in ‘Ease of Doing Business’. He said the LCCI ‘One Window Smart Services’ includes various help desks belonging to FBR, PRA, NTC, SMEDA, PESSI, FTO, IPO, Excise, Police, State Bank and Tourism etc. He said the addition of Passport Help Desk has literally completed the range of services our members can wish to have on the premises of Lahore Chamber under one roof. 

Irfan Sheikh said the Lahore Chamber, by way of this initiative, has set a unique example in Pakistan which every major chamber will certainly like to follow. “It is said that time is money. With this objective in mind, we established these help desks in Lahore Chamber so that our members can save their precious time while dealing with different public departments and be able to concentrate more on their businesses,” the LCCI president added.  He said that ease in obtaining new passports and renewing the old passports would send very positive message to the business community, making them believe that the government was fully supporting the private sector and committed to improving the business environment in the country. 

Senior Vice President LCCI Ali Hussam Asghar, Vice President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmed, Former President Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman, Former Senior Vice President Mian Tariq Misbah, DG Naeem Rauf and Director Passport Saeed Ahmed Abbasi were also present.