ISLAMABAD: Minister for Communication and Postal Services Murad Saeed on Monday said bills would be sent to the Sharif family asking it to pay the government billions of rupees  illegally spent on their security, fencing of residences, medical expenses and travel.

Speaking in the National Assembly, he said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif claimed that he did not take any salary, but actually his $ 327,000 medical expenses and travel expenses were paid from the national exchequer in the year 2016 .

Rs 1000 million of public money was spent by Nawaz Sharif on the security and fencing of his Jati Umra residence, while 2700 policemen were deployed for the security of his residence and Rs 2000 million were spent on that account.

The Punjab Government issued notifications declaring four houses in Model Town, Jati Umra and Defence Housing Authority as camp offices of Shehbaz Sharif.

An M17 helicopter was bought with Rs 1300 million while Rs 340 million was spent to pay for the employees, security, fencing, VVIP flights and entertainment at the four camp offices.

He said bills for all those expenditures would be sent to the Sharif family members asking them to pay back the illegal expenses made by them.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came into power after a 22-year struggle and through a democratic process to serve the poor people, he added.

He quoted former United States Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice saying she wrote in her book that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto sought help of the US administration for reconciliation with former president Pervez Musharraf.

Benazir Bhutto demanded the US administration that her colleagues and her husband Asif Ali Zardari should be immunized against charges of corruption and money laundering. She had also asked how she could become the prime minister again despite the constitutional restriction on the third term and finally asked would Pervez Musharraf support her return to Pakistan. She talked to the United States in early October and returned to Pakistan in October 2007.

Murad quoted another incident in which Asif Zardari was in talks with Deputy Directors of US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Adviser at a time when US was carrying out drone strikes in tribal areas of Pakistan which destroyed homes and businesses and funerals of people killed in aerial strikes were held.

This was the time when Hussain Haqqani who spews hate against Pakistan, was the ambassador in the United States.

Zardari told United States “collateral damage worries the US but does not worry me,” the minister quoted from the book.

This was the time when Imran Khan was leading the protests and staging sit ins against the drones strike in North Waziristan.

The minister said according to Wikileaks, Asif Zardari told the US ambassador Anne Patterson  “You continue the drone strikes and we will continue our protest in the parliament.”

Murad referred to a taped telephone call made by Benazir Bhutto to her son Bilawal Bhutto in which she told him about the jewellery and huge sums of money held by them in fake bank accounts.

Referring to the austerity drive of Imran Khan, the minister said the Prime Minister was not living in the PM House but was living in his home in Bani Gala and bearing his own expenses.

The security wall and fencing of residence of Imran Khan in Bani Gala was paid through party funds, he added.

He said Imran Khan refused visit to watch world cup cricket match of Pakistan against South Africa on the invitation of Prime Minister of United Kingdom as he did not want to waste time and money of the nation.

Murad said 50 percent of the children in Sindh were suffering from malnutrition, adding 250 children in 2019, 450 in 2018, 450 in 2017, 480 in 2016 and 390 in 2015 died from malnutrition.

He said the provincial government claimed to have spent Rs 104 billion on provision of water in Sindh, but  people were still not getting clean and safe drinking water. Justice Gulzar of Supreme Court declared Sindh as the most corrupt province and 4700 schools in the province were found to be dysfunctional.

Teachers and furniture were not available in schools, and hospitals were without ambulances and stretchers. 52 percent children were out of schools in Sindh as all the money was siphoned off through fake bank accounts.

He reminded that different sections of motorway connecting Islamabad, Lahore, Chakwal, Hafizabad, Pindi Bhatian and Peshawar, airports and buildings of Pakistan  Television and Radio Pakistan were mortgaged by previous governments to get loans amounting to billions of dollars.

Murad Saeed told that Prime Minister Imran Khan had initiated projects of hospitals, schools, universities, sports grounds, electricity and dams in Waziristan and allocated money for rehabilitation of displaced persons and for restoration of businesses and houses.

Under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Barang tunnel would be built to connect Swat with merged FATA, he added.

He said opportunities would be created for skill development of women and 1122 centres would be set up and funds would be allocated for construction of roads in erstwhile FATA.

Giving further details, he said shelter homes were built in cities of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Rawalpindi and Islamabad so that labourers coming from small towns for jobs could get food and place to sleep at night.

Now people having health cards were getting free medical treatment and the government took responsibility for their health, he added.

He said under the government’s flagship Ehsaas programme Rs 192 billion would be spent to end malnutrition and provide free education to out of school children and Kafalat Centres would be set up in each tehsil to impart skills to widows, who would get assistance of Rs 25000. Murad said subsidy of Rs 200 billion would be given for those using less than 300 units of electricity. —APP