Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif has said that institutions of the Punjab government had rendered a great service by foiling an attempt to grab 1200 kanals of government land through fraud and deception in Kasur.
“I congratulate anti-corruption, prosecution, and other law enforcement agencies and departments on their wonderful performance. The criminals who were trying to capture government’s land are behind bars and they will not escape punishment. Whoever they are, they will have to face the consequences. Everyone is equal before the law and no one is above the law,” the CM said.
“Whether it is a politician or a government official, whosoever will be involved in corruption will have to pay the price for it. Those government officials who misuse their power and authority are not capable of holding positions but will face strict punishment. Unfortunately, those who are involved in corruption of national wealth consider themselves respectable. The endeavours of the Punjab government to bring corrupt people to justice are exemplary. These institutions worked very hard for the cancellation of bails of these corrupt people from the high court and supreme court, and for this, I appreciate them. The resources of the country that were plundered through fraud and deception have been handed back to the nation. This is a wonderful achievement of the Punjab government and truly deserves praise and commendation,” he added.
Shehbaz Sharif was addressing a ceremony in Model Town arranged in the honour of anti-corruption and prosecution department officials who foiled an attempt to grab government land in Kasur. The chief minister also gave cash prizes and certificates to those officials who performed exceptionally during the whole episode.
While addressing the ceremony, the chief minister said that nations are built by reward and punishment and those who forget these principles have to face destruction. “The Punjab government strictly follows this principle of reward and punishment,” he added.
“Those who perform extraordinarily are always rewarded, and on the contrary, those who do not perform their duties efficiently and effectively are given punishments. Those who will perform will be rewarded, whereas those who don’t perform their duties and responsibilities honestly will be punished. The Punjab government played a great role not only in putting these corrupt people behind bars but also in the cancellation of their bails. In this regard, the efforts of the chief secretary, additional chief secretary, law and order secretary, prosecution secretary, anti-corruption director general, Punjab advocate general, secretary to CM Punjab, and the whole team are praise-worthy.”
“All this is a result of teamwork and we will take this example to move ahead and meet the expectations of the people. News of the foiled attempt is certainly good for all of us but on the other hand, it is shameful how public wealth is being looted,” Shahbaz Sharif said.
The chief minister said that he was also thankful to the high court and the supreme court, who gave the decision on merit. “This land is public property and those who tried to grab it will be given strict punishments. The performance of these institutions to foil the attempt of grabbing this land worth millions of rupees is an example for all of us, and others must follow the example set by these institutions to eliminate corruption, not only from the province but from Pakistan as well,” he said.
“Now this land will either be used for cultivation or for setting up projects for the provision of education and health facilities to the people. All this has become possible due to the collective efforts of these institutions. The anti-corruption department has performed very well, but there is a need to further improve it by introducing reforms in the department. In order to improve the efficiency of this department, there is a need for talented people to eliminate corruption from the province and to stop the plundering and looting of public wealth,” the chief minister said.
The Chief Minister added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, a transparency policy has been adopted and all mega projects of infrastructure, transport, energy, health, education, and others are exemplars of transparency.
The recent report of Transparency International also provides enough evidence of the government’s policy of transparency, he said. According to the report, the corruption rate has considerably declined in Pakistan and Pakistan fared better than most of its South Asian counterparts, coming in second after China in reducing corruption.
“In efforts to eliminate corruption from the country, Pakistan has left behind India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, and other countries,” CM Sharif said.
“Let us promise to work together for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan. By hard work, honesty, and devotion we will attain our destination and make Pakistan a welfare state as per the vision of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal,” he added.
Punjab chief secretary, additional chief secretary, Punjab advocate general, public prosecution secretary, secretary to the CM, information secretary, Punjab prosecutor general, anti-corruption establishment director general and other relevant officials attended the ceremony.
