CM Buzdar blames 'powerful mafia' for attempting to destabilise govt

• CM Buzdar holds meeting with Punjab govt ministers, Punjab MPAs and MNAs.
• Mafia has tentacles everywhere, says Buzdar.
• CM Buzdar says Opposition patronising mafia.

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Wednesday lashed out at a "powerful mafia", saying that it was active in destabilising the government and had its influence everywhere.

The chief minister did not specify whom he was referring to. However, his comments came a day after estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen launched scathing attacks at the Punjab government, accusing it of putting pressure on members of his group and exacting revenge on them.

CM Buzdar was speaking to provincial ministers who had called on him at his office to discuss matters of mutual interest.

The ministers included Dr Yasmin Rashid, Sibtain Khan, Yasir Humayun, Dr Akhtar Malik, advisers Asif Mahmood, Faisal Hayat Jabwana and MNAs Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandala and Syed Mobeen Ahmed.

The MPAs who called on the chief minister included Malik Asad Ali Khokhar, Muhammad Tariq Tarar, Malik Mukhtar Ahmed, Nazir Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Ijaz Hussain, Javaid Akhtar Lund, Saleem Sarwer Jora, Mian Muhammad Akhtar Hayat, Ch Liaqat Ali, Ghazanfar Abbas Cheena, Mamoon Tarar, Muneeb Sultan Cheema, Amir Inayat Shahani and Shahida Ahmed.

The chief minister said it was unfortunate that this mafia was everywhere and the Opposition was guilty of patronising it as well. Buzdar said when district development packages are formulated, the proposals sent by parliamentarians are taken into consideration.

He clarified that every city of Punjab has been equally included in the development process/

"Every decision is made with consultation and no compromise will be made on the respect of parliamentarians, " he stressed. “We are Prime Minister Imran Khan's team and will continue to serve the masses jointly,” he added.

The Punjab chief minister heaped praise on the prime minister, saying that “Imran Khan is a brave leader who believes in the politics of principles while the anarchistic elements are divided.”

He advised the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to shun politics of destabilisation. Buzdar blamed previous governments for making billions in kickbacks from public development projects.

"Billions of rupees were looted by raising minarets of corruption," he said, adding that past rulers will have to be answerable for their mega corruption.

Tareen accuses Punjab govt of putting pressure on his group

A day earlier, PTI's Tareen had announced that his supporters decided to form a separate group after the Punjab government initiated "revenge actions" against his supporters.

Tareen, however, quickly denied reports he was forming a forward bloc in the party. "We were part of the PTI, we are part of the PTI and we will continue to remain part of the PTI," he had said, after appearing for a hearing at a banking court in Lahore. 

He accused the Punjab government of transferring officers of the ministers that were loyal to Tareen, "left, right and centre", and were putting pressure on them.

The PTI leader said the pro-Tareen group had, as a result, decided to "raise their voices against this in the Punjab Assembly".

Tareen had said members of his group had decided to nominate MPA Saeed Akbar Niwani to "lead the discussions" against the alleged revenge tactics of the Punjab government, in the assembly.

He blamed the media for making a huge deal about the news.

Tareen had also urged the Punjab government to "stop with their actions", adding that the lawmakers who are part of the Tareen group are "your MPAs and you [Buzdar] became the chief minister by their votes".

In response to a question, Tareen had said the Punjab government had taken revenge from members of his group in other matters as well but he would rather not go into the details.