Shehbaz accuses Zardari of misappropriating Rs6 billion from state kitty

• Punjab CM says no dispute on Nawaz’s authority as PML-N chief
• Censures PTI’s demand for early elections as ‘irrational’

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday advised Asif Ali Zardari to stop issuing provocative statements, saying the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman was involved in misappropriating Rs6 billion from the state exchequer.

“Asif Zardari speaking about corruption is an irony,” Shehbaz said while talking to media following the inauguration of a kidney transplant facility in Lahore.

The Punjab chief minister insisted that the opponents had not been able to prove corruption of a single penny against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Sharif family.

Reiterating the ruling PML-N’s stance of holding the next general elections on time, Shehbaz censured Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s demand for holding early elections as “irrational”.

Criticising the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the CM stated that the demand for early elections was coming from those who had ruined the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and were against the development of Pakistan.

Taking a dig at the PTI chief, Shehbaz wondered how Imran Khan could abscond from the courts and level allegations against others.

Speaking about the rift in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Shehbaz affirmed that Nawaz Sharif was the president of the party and his decision would be accepted by all others.  “There is no dispute in the party regarding the role of Nawaz Sharif. The ultimate authority lies with the party president,” averred the CM.

Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif visited the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute, which is currently under construction. He shared that the first phase of the hospital would be completed by December 25, adding that the 360-bedded hospital would be completed next year.

“It is a project of which is being funded through public-private partnership,” he remarked, adding that the patients at the hospital would be treated free of cost. He further added that the government was searching for qualified doctors across the globe for the hospital.

On smog in Lahore, Shehbaz remarked that there were different reasons for it. He showed the provincial government’s resolve in coming up with solutions to combat the existing weather conditions.