Opposition grind PTI govt over TI’s damning report

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Politicians lashed out at the government for dragging the country into mire of corruption after the release of Transparency International report on Tuesday.

While talking to reporters outside the accountability court where he came to attend a reference against him, the PML-N leader hit hard at the government over rising corruption in Pakistan. He lamented that Pakistan was at 117 position in the TI’s Corruption Perception Index during Nawaz Sharif’s regime but now the PTI government has worsened its image and Pakistan has reached at 140 position.

The former premier called the government corrupt saying every ministry was hit by one scandal of corruption or other. Billions of rupees scandals keep popping up in every project, he added. He said all ‘thieves’ of this country were sitting around the table of federal cabinet.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that the Transparency International’s report on corruption was a charge-sheet against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government.

In a statement, Sherry said the report had laid bare the government’s claim of eliminating corruption as the country had now left 16 other countries behind in the TI’s ranking.

She went on to say that the very fact that Shahzad Akbar had resigned as adviser to prime minister on interior and accountability yesterday (Monday), was a proof that corruption had increased, and not decreased, in the country. “The accountability is nothing but only political witch-hunt of PTI’s opponents,” she alleged.

Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar said mockingly that the narrative of government was absolutely true. There is corruption in country and those who do not regard it a problem, the problem is with them, he said satirically.

Senator Musadik Masood Malik punned that the senator should adopt the prime minister’s stance and raised the question that in which reign sugar was exported at cheap rates and imported at high rates; and in which government tenure flour was exported at cheap rates and imported at higher rates.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz remarked that it was a sad day today when the government’s anti-corruption agenda proved to be a drama. He lamented that a common man had to bribe to get his work done. He said that the TI’s report was a big failure of government’s anti-corruption narrative. NAB should take action but the anti-corruption watchdog itself has become controversial, he added.

On Mr Nawaz’s remarked, Senator Kamran Murtaza jested no matter if the country slipped to 160 spot from the 16 spot, you should not be worried. People have got so many secrets of NAB and the anti-graft body itself has been blackmailing, how it could take action, he wondered.