By our correspondent
KARACHI: Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Altaf Shakoor on Sunday declared that after the successful defence against India, it is now time to defeat the internal enemy: corruption. Addressing a press conference, he said corruption and bribery are eroding the nation’s foundations and must be rooted out with the same resolve shown against external threats.
He criticised Pakistan’s political elite, calling their corruption a “curse,” and claimed they are among the most corrupt politicians globally. Despite being the fifth largest country in the world by population, Pakistan is perceived as one of the poorest due to entrenched corruption, he said. Successive governments, Shakoor added, have left the nation with a crushing debt burden, to the point where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) effectively controls national budget decisions. “Financial slavery is the worst form of slavery,” he remarked, lamenting that Pakistan is currently experiencing it.
He praised the Pakistani armed forces for their strength in defending against India and said they should also be empowered to help eliminate corruption. “Corruption is an internal security threat, and the armed forces have a mandate to deal with such threats,” he said, adding that trillions of rupees are lost annually due to graft.
