ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister's Adviser on Accountability Shahzad Akbar says the government has recovered 210 billion rupees and retrieved 8,085 acres of illegally occupied state land from 36 politicians belonging to the opposition parties.

Talking to media in Islamabad on Sunday, he said these recoveries have been made in just two and half years in Punjab only and the retrieved land is now being utilized for public welfare.

Giving detail of the retrieved properties, Shahzad Akbar said 1,150 kanals of land worth over 4.57 million rupees was recovered from PML-N leader Muhammad Afzal Khokhar and brothers. He said millions of rupees in terms of penal rent have also been recovered from the land grabbers.

He said PML-N leaders Mudasar Qayum Nahra, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Daniyal Aziz, Javed Latif, Mir Badshah Qaisrani, Abid Sher Ali and PPP leader Nayyar Bukhari are amongst those from whom illegally occupied state land has been recovered.

The Advisor said unfortunately, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif laid the foundations of the politics of corruption. the government is determined to continue anti-corruption drive with more vigor as gone are the days when politics of money sharing the success of the anti-corruption drive in Punjab, he said the authorities concerned went after a lot of bigwigs for their corrupt activities so that justice could be dispensed.

The Advisor said that the sole purpose of this anti-corruption drive is not provide retrieve the looted money and spending it for the welfare of the people of Pakistan. He said the government will continue this drive with full vigour.

Shahzad Akbar said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promoted the politics of corruption instead of nurturing a political ideology in the country. He said now this kind of politics have no room in Pakistan.

Shahzad Akbar also termed land mafias’ stance of taking political revenge by demolishing their properties as baseless. NNI