LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday asked the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment to deal strictly with corrupt bureaucrats and officials accused of looting public money or causing loss to the exchequer.

At a meeting with the director-general of the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment, Ejaz Husain Shah, the prime minister asserted that the agency should focus on high-profile cases and work without fear or pressure.

“Let me know, if there is some hurdle in carrying out investigations, arrests and [otherwise] taking action,” Mr Khan was quoted as saying to Mr Shah.

Inaugurates car manufacturing plant, opens housing scheme

The premier spent a busy day in and around the provincial capital, which began with a foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Naya Pakistan Housing Progra­mme in Renala Khurd, Okara.

He then met Mr Shah, attended an event of the car manufacturing industry and inaugurated a ‘picture wall’ at the Lahore Fort.

During their meeting, Mr Shah briefed the prime minister on his organisation’s administrative matters and the arrests and recoveries made by it. He said the anti-graft agency got around 2,000 cases every year, 10 per cent of them against senior officials in the Punjab government.

Mr Khan said that rooting out corruption was his government’s top priority as it damaged the country’s economy and its institutions. “The country is facing a severe economic crisis owing to massive corruption during the days of past governments,” he said.

Pointing out that most of the cases dealt with by the agency involved patwaris and constables, the prime minister said it should go after corrupt senior officials as well and recover the looted wealth from them.

After learning that the agency’s conviction rate was only two per cent, Mr Khan directed the chief minister and the inspector general of police to provide sufficient staff to Mr Shah and make arrangements for proper training of the agency’s personnel.

Housing project

While inaugurating the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme for low-income families in Renala Khurd, Mr Khan said his government “make the impossible possible” by building houses for the underprivileged.

Saying that building a large number of houses was a difficult job, he said the previous governments would have launched such a project if it was easy.

Because of the initiative, he said, said some 40 construction-related items would gain momentum, ultimately speeding up the business activities across the country.

He said the salaried class could embrace the housing scheme if it was provided loans at reasonable rates. The government would take banks on board and introduce mortgage laws, empowering salaried persons to buy houses.

The prime minister said his government would seek technical assistance from China to build multi-storey buildings especially in Katchi Abadis.

In the first phase of a pilot project in 30 villages of Punjab, he said, some 3,200 houses would be completed for the poor and homeless persons.

He praised Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and his cabinet for approving Rs5 billion for the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme.

Manufacturing plant

The prime minister announced manufacturing of electric cars in the country to mitigate effects of environmental pollution while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the JW Forland Car Plant and extension of Haier Industrial Park’s Phase-II in Lahore.

Mr Khan said the manufacturing of these cars in Pakistan would create around 40,000 jobs. “The Prime Minister Office will assist local and foreign investors to improve ease of doing business in Pakistan,” he said.

He regretted that hurdles were created for investors, forcing them to take their money out of Pakistan. He lauded Javed Afridi, the chief executive officer of Haier Pakistan, on the completion of the park.

Lahore Fort

Speaking at the historic fort where he inaugurated a picture wall, Mr Khan said his government planned to build hotels at or near heritage sites and use the income for the upkeep of such sites.

Regretting that the previous governments did not value the country’s rich archaeological and cultural heritage, he said his government had decided to allocate budgets in the years to come for developing heritage and tourism sites.

Pointing out that Pakistan was facing a severe financial crisis despite having massive tourism potential, the premier said that Turkey was earning some $40 billion from tourism every year.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2019