LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) central information secretary Shafqat Mahmood on Monday lambasted the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for holding a meeting of its senior leaders, including the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister, in London and wondered who was bearing the travel and other expenses of government functionaries.

Speaking at a news conference here, he said the PTI would raise this matter in the National Assembly.

The PTI leader said it was strange that the prime minister, foreign minister, finance minister and the Punjab chief minister had flown to London to hold just a meeting, adding that they could have held such meeting in Pakistan. “Disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif had gone to Jeddah, but he could not dare come to Pakistan to hold the meeting. Instead, he called his party leaders to London for a meeting,” the PTI leader added.

He said Mr Sharif had shifted his wealth and sons abroad and now he was shifting his party to London.

Mr Mahmood said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, whose arrest warrants have been issued, had rendered the country’s economy unattended. The finance minister must resign now, he demanded.

Shafqat Mahmood demands resignation of finance minister

Commenting on a recent statement of Mr Sharif that the stock market had crashed after his ouster from the prime minister office, the PTI information secretary claimed that by saying this Mr Sharif had criticised his own party’s government.

Claiming that the country’s economy was in shambles, Mr Mahmood said the country’s exports had fallen from $25 billion to $20bn, while imports had risen to $54bn. He said the government had recently taken a loan of $450 million on a high interest rate, besides offering a sovereign guarantee.

These types of loans offered kickbacks, he claimed. “With $22bn increase, the country’s total debt has dangerously risen to $74bn,” he said. Some 600 mills had been closed in the country, he said, adding that “these are the reasons behind the stock market’s crash”.

Mr Mahmood criticised the performance of the Punjab government, claiming that it was squandering money on mega projects and failed to provide decent health and education facilities to the people of the province.

He alleged corruption in the Multan Metro Bus project.

The PTI leader accused the Punjab chief minister of creating 56 companies that offered a salary package of Rs500,000 to Rs1.5 million to pro-PML-N bureaucrats. There was no check and balance on these companies and they were using Rs150bn without any audit, he said, adding that the PTI had raised the matter in the Punjab Assembly.

Answering a question, Mr Mahmood said the PTI was demanding fresh elections because it believed that Mr Sharif’s disqualification had created a vacuum.

He said delimitation of constituencies was being considered on the basis of provisional census results, adding that the formal census results would be available in April next year.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2017