CM Maryam incensed at Chaudhry Salik's claims of corruption in Punjab, sends him Rs5bn defamation notice

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday sent a Rs5 billion defamation notice to Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain for levelling allegations of corruption against her government and demanded that he retract his remarks. During a private television channel talk show on Monday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader lavished praise on former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. However, he also took a swipe at the present provincial administration, alleging that political considerations were increasingly shaping development priorities and influencing the allocation of public funds. He said he regularly heard complaints of corruption in Punjab, alleging that a disproportionate share of the province’s development budget was being channelled towards Lahore.

Addressing a ceremony in Attock on Tuesday, CM Maryam said: “There is a federal minister … somebody sent me his statement about corruption in Punjab. Today, I am sending him a defamation notice. ” She said that she would not hear “false allegations of corruption”. “If you have evidence, bring it forth — otherwise I will drag you to court,” she said. She also asked him why he remained a minister in a government that he considered corrupt. The chief minister went on to say that the reason behind the anger of the PML-Q leader was neither a matter of corruption nor progress. The issue, she said, was that she changed the deputy commissioner (DC) of Gujrat a few days ago whereas Salik had wanted a DC of his choice to be appointed. “I will not allow anyone to interfere in the will of the people,” she said. Maryam also took exception to Salik’s comments calling Elahi the “best-ever chief minister” in Punjab. “The Gujrat that Pervez Elahi handed me — I went there about two years…