LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has plans to set a tradition of devolving development funds to the local government (LG) representatives unlike the incumbent government’s usage of development funds to buy MNAs and MPAs.

“The PTI after coming into power will not give development funds even to its party parliamentarians,” said PTI chief Imran Khan while referring Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s plan of distributing Rs94 billion development funds to the PML-N MNAs.

He was speaking at a news conference at the residence of Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali who announced rejoining the party. Aseff had joined the PTI before 2013 general election but left the party owing to ‘certain misunderstandings’.

Aseff Ahmad Ali rejoins party

Until now, Mr Khan said, the politics was a lucrative business for ‘qabza mafia’ and contractors to bribe people, get elected and then loot national wealth to multiply their assets but this would not happen in PTI’s next government.

“I will lead by example and ensure that neither I nor my relatives get undue benefits from power. I will expect same attitude from my team.”

During the four years of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Imran asserted, neither he nor his relatives increased their assets or took any loan from the Bank of Khyber. He said he did not use his discretion to give a single job of BPS-IV even. “Anybody who will join the PTI will not play for himself but for the country,” he asserted.

Imran Khan declared that the next PTI government would also change the local bodies’ election system and hold direct elections for district Nazims. He said the political parties’ would launch their best candidates for the Nazim slots who would be able to utilise development funds judiciously.

“In the existing PML-N system, only one man (chief minister) decides and uses development funds,” he commented.

Welcoming Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali back in his party, Mr Khan assured him that he would not be disappointed this time.

Speaking on the occasion, Aseff said he had made a mistake by leaving the party but did not make another mistake of joining any other party. He said he had continued waiting for Imran Khan to reach out to him and remove certain misunderstandings.

Lauding Imran Khan for his struggle, he said, Mr Khan’s courage and perseverance had forced the disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to say ‘Mujhe Kyun Nikala’.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2017