ISLAMABAD: Taking its cue from the Transparency International’s fresh report, Pakistan Muslim League -Q on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to take action against corruption in public offices and constitute a commission for probing malpractices.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat, PML-Q’s parliamentary leader Faisal Saleh Hayat accused the government of inaction and said corruption had been rampant during its 20-month tenure.

Accompanied by Marvi Memon and deputy secretary information Mustafa Malik, Mr Hayat said his party had repeatedly raised the issue of corruption in the National Assembly, but without any success.

He criticised the prime minister’s statement that the Public Accounts Committee ‘is a platform for accountability’ and said that accountability was not the committee’s mandate.

He urged the PML-N to join other opposition parties and confront the government for ignoring merit in giving jobs.

Referring to Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin’s statement about corruption of Rs500 billion only in the Federal Bureau of Revenue, he alleged that $12 million to $16 million had been wrongly invested in National Insurance.

About the Transparency’s report, he said that when the PML-Q was in power the PPP used its reports to attack the government and it was rejecting it as part of a conspiracy.

Mr Hayat said the report had highlighted corruption in Pepco, KESC and rental power projects.

Commenting on the accountability bill the government wanted to introduce, he said, it would not curb corruption but help malpractices, adding that the process of accountability should start from the tenure of the PML-Q government.

He denied that his party was involved in NRO and said the ordinance had been promulgated although it had been rejected by the cabinet.

Praising the electronic media for preparing a code of ethics, he said that politicians also needed a code of conduct.