Pakistan cannot progress if corrupt not held accountable: PM Khan

MIANWALI: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that Pakistan will have to follow a zero-tolerance policy for corruption otherwise it cannot progress, ARY News reported.

Addressing a ceremony after breaking the ground for the construction of a hospital at NAMAL Institute in Mianwali, he said: “They [opposition leaders] question what good the ongoing accountability will do to the public.”

“The Chinese example is in front of [us]. China’s president put more than 450 ministers behind the bars yet the country progressed.”

“Pakistan won’t make progress until all those who looted the country are not held to account.”

The prime minister said investors were reluctant to come to Pakistan owing to rampant corruption in the past.

How could it happen that the country’s public debt increased to Rs6,000 billion over 60 years but jumped to Rs30,000 bn in just 10 years, he questioned. What development work did they carry out in the country, he asked.

Like Lahore’s metro bus service, some projects were launched but they incurred losses, PM Khan said.

He said the construction of a state-of-the-art hospital in the backward area will help the local population get healthcare facilities at their doorstep.

PM Khan said the NAMAL University was his vision to provide education to the people of the area as they had no such opportunities previously.