Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has pushed back against critics of her government over corruption allegations, asking why ministers described as “dissatisfied” are still in office rather than resigning. Speaking at an event in Jhelum on Tuesday, she said that anyone with a problem should resign.
Her comments follow remarks by federal minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain, a PML-Q MNA and political ally of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who alleged corruption in Punjab. In an interview with a private television channel on November 2, Hussain said he had no evidence but heard stories about corruption in the province every day.
Rs5 billion legal notice against Chaudhry Salik Hussain
Maryam Nawaz later sought Rs5 billion in damages from Hussain, according to a legal notice served on the minister. The six-page notice, issued in her name by Additional Advocate General Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz, said Hussain had not identified any document, official inquiry, audit observation, investigation, complaint or other verifiable source to back up his remarks.
Also read: Salik Hussain to Respond to Maryam Nawaz's Legal Notice
Chief minister defends her record on corruption and the poor
The chief minister said people who had delivered nothing in the past found it easy to accuse others. She added that she had never claimed corruption had been completely eliminated in Punjab. “I have never said that corruption has been completely eliminated in Punjab.”
She argued that Punjab was the only province where the chief minister regularly uncovered corruption cases, and asked whether corruption did not exist in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She invited anyone with evidence against a cabinet member to come forward, promising not to spare any minister found involved in wrongdoing. “If anyone comes forward with evidence against my minister, I will not spare them.”
Maryam Nawaz also said her government was, for the first time, standing alongside poor and working-class people, and that influential individuals could no longer dare to assault common people. She described a case in which a shopkeeper allegedly assaulted a young girl. According to her, she instructed that the girl be brought to the police station and told to slap the wealthy shopkeeper in return.
