LAHORE, Dec 17: The Punjab government decided on Monday not to send any representative to the committee the federal government was forming for checking corruption in the public sector in response to the NAB chairman’s recent claim that billions were being siphoned off on a daily basis in the country.

“At a time when only a couple of months are left in the completion of the government’s tenure and the nation is going for new elections, inviting representatives of Punjab to the committee is a mockery (of the intention to curb corruption). No representative of Punjab will attend any such meeting,” said Pervaiz Rashid, the spokesman for the provincial government.

In a press statement issued here, he said the opposition (in parliament) had been raising its voice for elimination of corruption from day one and submitted comprehensive proposals to that end, but the federal government did not pay heed to any such proposal and was now trying to get an ineffective accountability bill approved.

Mr Rashid said that every patriotic citizen was worried about the loot, plunder and ruination of national institutions by the federal government.

He said the discussion in the federal cabinet about forming a committee for eradicating corruption was only a deception.

“The Punjab government will neither become party to any such measure being taken for deceiving people nor attend any such meeting,” he said.