LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif hit back on Sunday at Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s allegations of massive corruption against the Sharif Family, terming it a bid to conceal “his (Malik’s) own corruption”.
The CM lashed out at Rehman Malik, who leveled serious allegations of financial corruption against the Sharifs in his Saturday’s Press Conference and Sunday’s media talk in Islamabad, and termed the accusations a total fraud.
“Rehman Malik is the IG of liars (top liar) who is trying to defame us by leveling such allegations,” a furious Shahbaz Sharif told a gathering after he formally inaugurated the Muslim Town Dual Flyover worth Rs2 billions here on Sunday.
“I am not like the corrupt rulers (Ali Baba Chalees Chor) who could meet anyone in darkness (secretly). I meet the people in daylight,” he said, alleging that the rulers had earmarked their ‘share’ in the federal budget.
He said some people were unhappy with his development projects, some of them in education sector. “They feel uneasy when they see the (poor) children getting education in Punjab,” he added.
He claimed if the PML-N government was given another chance to serve the nation, it would end power loadshedding within three years.
The chief minister said though he didn’t claim his all projects were corruption-free, the Punjab government’s development schemes were almost transparent.
He appreciated the role of Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani and performance of National Logistic Cell (a subsidiary organisation of the army) for undertaking and completing various development projects in Lahore and other parts of the province.
Though Muslim Town Dual Flyover was to be opened on March 23, 2012 according to a deadline fixed by the CM in August last, the project management could only open the Bridge-1 on the announced date.
On March 23, 2012, the CM inspected the on-going project work and finally ordered the authorities to complete the second bridge till April 18. However, the second bridge could not be opened for traffic before April 21, three days after the second deadline.
Presently, the project management is busy constructing service roads and completing other pending works under the bridges.
