ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday expressed his government's commitment that accountability process would reach its logical conclusion, laying the foundation of a prosperous Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference here, the minister said the recovery of national wealth plundered by corrupt elements, including the Sharif brothers and Asif Zardari, was imperative to improve for the country's economy.
The Sharif family wanted the law to follow their whims and they should not be held accountable for the national wealth they had plundered, he said.
Chaudhry said Pakistan's total foreign debt from 1947 to 2007 was only $37 billion, which was judiciously utilised to execute many mega projects, including the development of Islamabad as the capital, construction of Mangla and Tarbela dams, naval bases and Gwadar deep seaport, but from the year 2008 to 2018 it touched the whopping $97 billion mark.
The question, he said, was where this whopping amount of $60 billion was.
The big chunk of that amount was misappropriated by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari, who remained in government during the period (2008-2018), the minister said.
He said the masses would have to endure price hike and economic crunch until the recovery of looted wealth from the two former rulers.
Referring to the massacre of innocent workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in Model Town Lahore in 2014, Chaudhry said the behaviour of the then-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was totally different as compared to the today’s regime.
"Now in the same Model Town, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz had confined himself in the basement of his house to avoid arrest and that too by making women and children a shield," he said.
The information minister said it was time now to differentiate between an act of crime and politics.
He said Hamza Shehbaz was being arrested in the light of statements of two witnesses, adding that evidence was available of wrongdoings by Shehbaz Sharif and his family.
Hamza should better cooperate with the National Accountability Court (NAB) and surrender himself before law, which otherwise would take its own course, Chaudhry said.
He said when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to power last year, the country was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the loot and plunder of Nawaz and Zardari.
The minister claimed that now Pakistan was moving towards economic stability, owing to positive measures taken by the incumbent government. The PTI government, he said, had taken bold decisions for economic stability.
To a question, Chaudhry said the opposition posed no threat to the government.
He further said the PTI government had eased visa restrictions for promoting tourism in the country.
Commenting on tax amnesty scheme, the information minister said the contours of the scheme for declaring assets abroad were being finalised. He said so far two-thirds of the country's economy was undocumented.
Chaudhry also said the next budget would be industry-friendly as the export sector had already been provided subsidy of Rs45 billion. He said a crackdown had been launched against the people hoarding dollars, which had brought the value of rupee down.
The minister also criticised PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb for issuing baseless statements. To a question, he said the government had nothing to do with NAB activities.
Chaudhry said it was Prime Minister Imran Khan who had raised voice against former MQM chief Altaf Hussain for his terrorist activities during his prime time.
"Today’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has changed and is totally different from its past", he said.