Prime Minister Imran Khan said Friday there was a mandi (market) for the upcoming Senate elections and that the Opposition parties were trying to “buy” the ruling PTI’s lawmakers after all efforts of the anti-government coalition under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) banner “failed”.
The market, PM Imran Khan said, has been “operating for the past 30 years”. He added that “prices were set to buy the politicians” ahead of the Senate elections.
His remarks came during an address in a visit to the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project site.
“A country is destroyed if its prime minister and federal ministers start engaging in corruption,” he underscored, noting that the “robbers” who ruled Pakistan in the past “not only stole money, they also wiped out all morality”.
The premier said the government seeks open-ballot polls in the Senate but the Opposition is vehemently opposed to the idea and wants a secret ballot.
“The corrupt elements wish to once again set up a market for the Senate elections,” PM Imran Khan said.
“Rulers of the past have built properties abroad with the money they got from corruption,” he said. “When funds are stolen from the national exchequer, the country suffers a great loss.”
PM Imran Khan said that rulers of the past gave the impression that corruption is “not a bad thing”.
Change approach to climate emergency
PM Imran Khan also called for the nation to change their approach to climate emergency.
“Trees are crucial for the future,” he said. “Unfortunately, we did not pay attention to planting trees and forests were ruthlessly cleared in the past.
“The Billion Tree [Tsunami] project must succeed to reduce the impact of climate change,” he said, noting that 70% of trees in Lahore were cut down over the past 20 years.
The premier announced that the Kamra town would be added to a technology park. “To deal with climate change, we have to change ourselves as a nation,” he noted.
