MIANWALI: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday reiterated his determination to end corruption in Pakistan and said the process of accountability will continue without any discrimination.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Namal hospital in Mianwali, Imran said that development in the country will not be possible without ending corruption.
He further said that he has often been criticised of only focusing on accountability and not working for the betterment of the economy.
Citing China’s example, the premier said that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, Beijing rounded up 400 ministers in corruption cases to turn around the economy.
PM Imran stated that the country will progress and become powerful if it can pay back all the debt it has accumulated over the years.
He added that the country will never progress if people are not held accountable for their actions and former prime ministers and chief ministers are the ones responsible for the current economic situation.
The premier reiterated that the country’s debt climbed sharply in a decade due to corruption and bad governance and inflation, devaluation of rupee and general economic malaise have been caused by the plundering and looting of national wealth during the last 10 years.
Referring to corruption cases against opposing political leaders, the premier said most of these were instituted during the tenures of the previous government.
The prime minister said various cases were made against him by the previous government but he stood bravely against these fabricated charges and was eventually cleared by the courts.
He also reiterated the government’s commitment to bring backward areas of the country at par with developed ones.
The PM said the construction of a state of the art hospital in a backward area will help the local population receive quality medical care.
Imran also invited the private sector to step forward in adopting the country’s major hospitals and join the government’s journey of bringing improvement in the health sector.
“Under the adopt-a-hospital project, we can bring a significant change in the health sector through a public-private partnership,” he said, adding that the government alone could not revamp all medical facilities across Pakistan but the private sector’s financial assistance could yield positive results.
He said several other groups had also approached him to adopt a hospital, which was an encouraging sign.