Lahore:
Days after dropping a bomb shell and blowing the flute on the country’s bureaucracy, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday doubled his criticism, aiming for “lavish pampering” by officials and called for urgent legislative reform to empty them.
When he spoke on a private news channel, the minister cited dizzying numbers from a report and said a colossal RS3.5 trillion was spent annually on bureaucrats. “According to a pide [Pakistan Institute of Development Economics] Report, RS860 million is spent over the entire service range for a single bureaucrat, ”he added.
Although Asif did not accuse the entire official, Asif claimed that “25 to 30 percent” of the bureaucracy was corrupt. “I personally want to demand that my own government legislate on bureaucracy,” he promised.
He called for bureaucrats to legally declare their assets annually and argued that “no other sector has as much corruption as the bureaucracy.”
Asif noted that “No politician, judge or army officer in Pakistan may have double nationality … Only bureaucrats can. This privilege must quit.”
He also demanded a cessation of “endless allocation of grounds” to bureaucrats and said that such perks should not be treated as a right.
The minister also said he did not expect his previous statement of some bureaucrats who buy property in Portugal to cause such a rebellion. He revealed that he now conducted an investigation and intended to postpone those involved.
