Politicians should declare assets to stop corruption: Imran

LAHORE: The Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, said on Thursday that politicians had to declare their assets to root out corruption from the country.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of a book, ‘Haan Ye Sach Hai’, written by Brig (retd) Aslam Ghumman on corruption in the government ranks, the PTI chief said that corruption was an impediment to all growth efforts in Pakistan. The PTI chief said that corrupt leaders could never eliminate corruption in the country as it was the reason behind the decline in the level of governance and welfare in the country.

The ceremony was also addressed by PTI central leaders and parliamentarians, including Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, renowned intellectuals and writers including Hassan Nisar, Mujibur Rehman Shami and Orya Maqbool Jan.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan said that corruption always started from the top and the leader who did not speak the truth always bred dishonesty at every level and in every department. He said whether it was an autocrat or democrat, their dishonesty would destroy the institutions like the judiciary, police, NAB, etc. To hide their own corruption, they either bought these people or removed them and brought corrupt people to serve their purposes, he added.

He said for a leader to succeed, he must have the courage to be honest and take tough decisions which might encourage the institutions like the judiciary, police, NAB, etc. To hide their own corruption, they either bought these people or removed them and brought corrupt people to serve their purposes, he added.

He said for a leader to succeed, he must have the courage to be honest and take tough decisions which might encourage the society to follow the values set the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Imran said that leaders like Quaid-i-Azam and Mandela rendered great sacrifices for a larger cause. They were the leaders who could bring about a change and progress in their countries. According to a Gallup survey, in last eight months in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the people of the province had achieved the satisfaction level of upto 57 percent as compared to the Punjab and other provinces, where the level of satisfaction was 27 percent and 37 percent, he added.

He said this was an indication of how in eight months corruption in KP had started decreasing and institute building started. In the next three months, a great change in the KP would be witnessed where people would support the government performance even more, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said most of the governments had been afraid of their past and had bowed down in front of autocrats. The rulers ran away from the country when things got tough, leaving the poor on their own, he said and added that the struggle against corruption was a major challenge to create a fair governance system.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the book was a great effort by Brig (retd) Aslam Ghumman to reveal such dishonesty. The PTI would encourage such transparency within and outside the party, he added.

PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry said that the PTI Chairman Imran Khan had always termed corruption the root cause of all evils and this book gave examples of how this had been true in the previous governments. The PTI would set new standards of accountability and transparency, he added.

Brig (retd) Aslam Ghumman, the author of the book in his address, said he had spent all his life fighting against corruption and future generations could benefit from the lessons in the book. He said Imran Khan was the leader who would be able to purge the whole set up of corruption and set the country on the path of progress.PTI Punjab Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas, MNA Shafqat Mehmood, MPAs Dr Murad Ross and Shanial Routh were also present.