KARACHI, April 6: Naveed Chaudhry, information secretary of PPP Punjab, has demanded formation of a consensus government for protecting national assets and holding general elections in the country.

Addressing a press conference at the Bilawal House here on Thursday, he remarked that the present government had broken all records of corruption while privatizing national concerns and institutions.

He said that the PPP would mobilize masses to enhance pressure on the government to force it to do away with its corrupt practices. “Plunderers of national wealth will not be spared,” he added.

He said the process of privatization of KESC, PTCL, Pakistan Steel and other major national concerns involved corruption on the part of the government as none of the privatization deals appeared transparent.

Naveed Chaudhry alleged that national assets worth trillions of rupees were being distributed among a few families at throwaway prices.

He said that the NAB’s responsibility was to check corruption in major financial deals but it had confined its role to defaming opposition leaders.

He deplored the attempts to create differences between peoples of Punjab and Sindh on water issue.

He also criticized the appointment of 800 retired military officials for monitoring of educational institutions, and alleged that the federal Education Minister Gen (r) Javed Ashraf Qazi was handling the education department as if it was the ISI.

“If he really wants improvement in education sector and effective monitoring of educational institutions, he should acquire services of retired civil servants and not ex-service men,” he advised.

Jamil Soomro, Aijaz Durrani and other PPP leaders were present on the occasion.—PPI