Opposition trying to impede progress: PM
ISLAMABAD — The federal cabinet on Wednesday met after a gap of seven months under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and approved broad outline of 2016-17 budget increasing defence spending by eight per cent.
The cabinet also expressed confidence in the leadership of the prime minister denouncing the ‘campaign to malign him’ under cover of the Panama Papers.
Briefly addressing the meeting , Sharif said although his name does not figure in the papers, he has offered himself and his family for accountability in the best democratic tradition. He said the opposition is promoting its nefarious agenda to impede the progress and development of the country.
“Our opponents are afraid that if we completely implement our development agenda, the people would reject them in the next elections as well,” the PM House cited him as saying while briefing the cabinet about details of the letter he has written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to undertake a broad-based probe into corruption in the country.
Cabinet members while voicing approval of the contents of the letter, described as unacceptable the opposition’s demand for restricting the investigation to the family of the prime minister.
Later talking to media, two prominent members of the ruling PML-N, Daniyal Aziz and Talal Chaudhry said that the Pakistan
Our opponents are afraid that if we completely implement our development agenda, the people would reject them in the next elections as well
Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was now running away from an impartial accountability because his own team members have been found involved in corruption and getting their loans written off.
The cabinet in a resolution approved a three-year economic strategy with emphasis on development spending. The prime minister directed them to ensure maximum savings in administrative expenditure.
He also directed an effective response to allegations being levelled by the opposition against the government labelling them as baseless.