KARACHI: Corruption cannot be eradicated unless the prime minister and other ministers are made accountable, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan said on Wednesday.

The PTI chief sounded hopeful about the outcome of the Panama Papers case hearings. “It will be a victory not just for me or my party but also for the nation. The case is not about the government or the ruling Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz. It is about the accountability of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.”

Mr Khan was addressing a press conference at the residence of Sindh PTI chief Dr Arif Alvi.

Mr Khan said that “regardless of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panamagate case, the system of accountability will not remain the same because this case will establish a new example in the country and no chief executive will ever think of indulging in corruption”.

Referring to recent statements by PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Rana Sanaullah, the PTI chief accused them of hurling veiled threats at the Supreme Court. “However, this time they won’t be able to attack the SC building,” he jibed at the ruling party, alluding to an attack on the apex court in 1997.

Mr Khan savaged the PML-N men for observing that “we are accountable only to the people as they voted for us”.

“A victory in elections doesn’t empower one to line one’s pocket at will and silence dissent merely by building motorways,” he retorted.

In reply to a question about inauguration of a section of the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway, he said opening of “incomplete projects” was unheard of.

“Nawaz Sharif cannot escape accountability now no matter how many projects he inaugurates.”

Sharing his thoughts on the recent appointment of PML-N’s Mohammad Zubair as Sindh governor, Mr Khan said norms of propriety demanded restraint on his part since Asad Umar, a leader of his party, was Mr Zubair’s brother.

Nevertheless, he added, rewarding someone for showing “loyalty to the Sharif family” reflected poorly on the ruling clan. “It saddens me to see that an intelligent man who knows about the corruption of the prime minister and his family kept defending him and now he is a governor.”

Turning to the woes of Karachi, Mr Khan said the Panamagate case “affects Karachi the most” because it was the biggest contributor to the exchequer, but financial wrongdoing “robs this city of badly needed money”.

The PTI chief said Karachi had turned into a beleaguered city over the last two decades. “During the time when I used to play cricket, there were a number of big cricket grounds here, but all of them have vanished now as land mafia rules the metropolis,” he lamented.

Pointing out that although the Sindh government allocated a significant amount for solid waste disposal, he said bad governance had turned the city into a garbage dump.

Mr Khan conceded that he had been unable to concentrate on the party’s set-up in Karachi, holding out an assurance that after the conclusion of Panama Papers case “I will give my full attention to this city”.

He called for making Altaf Hussain accountable for Karachi’s agony.

He ridiculed the provincial government’s claim that it had spent Rs70 billion on Larkana’s uplift. “The spending is nowhere to be seen as even Moenjodaro is in a better shape than Larkana.”

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017