LAHORE: Terming the opposition alliance an association of plunderers, Special Adviser to Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan says that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is fighting against the “scourge” to save the country from further plunder.

Using social media, she presented the performance of the PTI government during the last two and a half years, comparing it with over 10-year rule of, what she said, was the “all-Pakistan loot-mar [plunder] association”.

In a couple of tweets on Sunday, she claimed that the textile industry was fully restored after 13 years, exports registered an increase after eight years, while the current account deficit had been converted into “surplus” after 20 years.

PML-N’s Azma contradicts her claims

She said the government also exposed before the comity of world the “Indian conspiracies” hatched against the homeland.

The special adviser said that during the 27-month rule of the PTI the Anti-Corruption Establishment, Punjab, recovered a sum of Rs206 billion from the corrupt and deposited the amount with the exchequer, while the same agency could recover only Rs430 million during the 10 years before the PTI came into power.

“This is the change. This is the new Pakistan of the Kaptaan in which the nation is hearing the cries of the corrupt and the plunderers due to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Jihad against corruption,” she said.

Referring to the amendment in the agreements signed with independent power producers (IPPs), she said the agreement on solar power plant was reviewed after eight years as the electricity price per unit had been reduced from 20 US cents to just 2.37 cents.

Responding to the claims, Punjab PML-N Information Secretary Azma Bukhari said that for the first time in 69 years the economic growth rate dropped to the negative. She said the PTI government took loans worth Rs13,000bn, but not a single brick could be used in any project.

Similarly, she said, billions of rupees were spent on “political vendetta” in the name of accountability but not a single penny could be recovered from the so-called corrupt as the country ranked second after Brazil in the world ranking of corruption.

She said the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) was facing the “Bani Gala mafiaism”.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2021