PAT Chairman Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has expressed his heartfelt shock over the statement given by prime minister in which he admitted that there was rampant corruption in country and that is too widespread to control. Strongly condemning the statement, he termed it as the flagrant deviation from the Constitution and outrageous joke with the nation. He noted that it was the exclusive responsibility of the state to eliminate all kinds of evils and ensure social justice under the Articles 37& 38 of the Constitution.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri lamented that if the prime minister of any other civilized and democratic country had issued such a statement, the people there would have toppled him immediately. He added that all those who dreamt about rule of law and establishment of corruption-free society must open their eyes now after the statement of corruption- enabling prime minister. The judiciary, the lawyers, the civil society, the farmers, the labourers and those who earn money through lawful means must reach this conclusion that our political elite do not even consider corruption as corruption and term the efforts of apprehending the corrupts elements of society as the wastage of time.

PAT Chairman made these remarks while talking the central PAT leadership via telephone. He said that we staged 2014 sit-in against these dacoits because neither the plundering nor the getting the exchequer plundered is crime for them. They deem the killing of innocent people as their right to prolong their rule, and consider democracy as the continuation of their dynastic politics. He observed that these rulers infused the evils of kickbacks, habit of getting commissions and competition of earning money whether legitimately or illegitimately in the national institutions. He said that the man who laid the foundation of commercializing politics and corrupting the administrative institutions was Nawaz Sharif. The political elite not only looted the country with both hands but also shared their looting with every stakeholder: from cleric to Chief Secretary, from policeman to IG and from Patwari to assistant commissioner.

Dr Qadri lamented that the plundering, embezzlement and apathy of this elite had deteriorated to such an extent that they no longer deemed the plundering of exchequer as crime. He said that chief justice should not reprimand the chairmen of NAP, FIA, the ombudsmen and other accountability institutions because their chief executive did not consider corruption as crime. He observed that the ruling party’s philosophy of corruption was to commit more corruption because for them, corruption was not corruption.

He noted that the prime minister was the chief executive of the country and it was his Islamic, legal and constitutional obligation to safeguard the national exchequer. He further added that institutional corruption, being committed on the money that was collected through the taxes levied upon the public, did not belong to Sharif family, noting that this money was collected to provide social amenities to the public and this must not be the essay prey for the corrupt rulers, their darbariz and government officials.

The PAT Chairman vowed to bring back the looted money and hold those accountable who sold our institutions. He observed that it was the Sharif family that introduced corruption in development works and mega projects and it was for this reason that they do not consider corruption as crime and have the gall to declare the investigation aimed at apprehending the culprits as the wastage of time, noting that this was corruption that strengthened their politics and with which their palaces in the foreign countries were bought. He concluded by saying that now that the prime minister himself admitted to condoning corruption, and if the nation still thinks that ongoing system would one day salvage them from corruption and corrupt elements, that naivety on the part of the nation is hugely regrettable.