ISLAMABAD: The main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has asked the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice of “Rs4 billion corruption” committed by the Pakistan Tehree-i-Insaf (PTI) government in Punjab by writing off ethanol tax to benefit blue-eyed sugar mill owners.

Speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club here on Tuesday, PML-N’s secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, information secretary Mariyum Aurang­zeb and MNA Shaista Pervez Malik alleged that the PTI was running a massive corruption ring behind its façade of transparency and accountability.

Mr Iqbal said first the government attempted to appease its favourites and blue-eyed people by waving off Rs300 billion through the controversial Gas Infrastructure Develop­ment Cess Ordinance, but it failed to do so due to timely hue and cry by media and opposition parties.

Accuses PTI govt of being involved in Rs4 billion corruption

The PML-N leader alleged that the PTI Punjab government had now sneaked through a measure to dent the already depleting national revenue by Rs4 billion by writing off Rs2 per litre duty on ethanol despite the fact the case was still pending before courts.

Giving a background, he explained that the former PML-N government in Punjab under then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif had levied the duty on ethanol which was used in sugar mills despite exhaustive pressure by mill owners. He said the duty was challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and when it gave the verdict in favour of the Punjab government, it was challenged in the Supreme Court. He said the Supreme Court had reverted the case back to the LHC where it was still pending. The court has decided that the duty being collected under this head would continue to be deposited with the court till the final decision in this regard is reached.

However, he alleged that against all legal obligations and national revenue interest, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar constituted a four-member committee on the issue with an aim to approve the writing off of this tax. He claimed that two of the four members of the committee refused to sign the report, but even then the chief minister rushed the unsigned motion through the cabinet and got it approved.

“Not only did he approve awarding of Rs4 billion already collected under the ethanol tax, but he also annulled future collection of the revenue, denting the revenue by Rs1 billion every year,” he added.

Mr Iqbal also asked the National Accountability Bureau’s chairman to hold an investigation into the matter and identify those who were behind this move.

“The PTI regime is so committed to slashing every relief to the Pakistan’s most deserving section of society but when it comes to their rich friends, they do not think twice before handing out billions in favours. The mandatory diagnostics tests at hospitals have been snatched, medicines from public hospitals have been taken away, public welfare programmes have been cut in the name of ending subsidies as the hard working Pakistanis with humble means suffer. But, at the same time the corrupt regime has no problems in giving billions in subsidies to their rich blue-eyed,” Mr Iqbal said, adding: “Pakistan is not being run by Imran Khan Niazi, it is being run by and for friends of Imran Niazi”.

PM’s statement

Mr Iqbal also condemned the recent reported statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the US that Pakistan’s military and intelligence had trained Al Qaeda. He said Mr Khan had become a “threat to national security” because of his lack of knowledge and composure.

The PML-N leader was of the view that even former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was a better spokesperson for Pakistan over the issue than Mr Khan as she had stated that the US trained Al Qaeda and left Pakistan and Afghanistan in a mess after the Soviet-Afghan war.

Mr Iqbal said that he expected that the army would deny this statement made by the prime minister as it could create trouble for the country.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2019