Wrath of Khan: PM wishes he could put 500 corrupt people behind bars

October 8, 2019: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that he wished to put 500 corrupt people in Pakistan behind bars just like his Chinese counterpart, to rid the county of 'biggest impediment to prosperity'.

"President Xi waged one of the biggest crusades against corruption and I want to do the same, but unfortunately our system is too cumbersome to handle it," the prime minister said in his address at the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Beijing.

Imran Khan mentioned the effective accountability system in China, where a corrupt mayor was convicted in just five days on charges of stashing tons of gold in house's basement.

The Prime Minister stressed that his top priority was to end red-tapism - another form of corruption - and promote meritocracy in the country. 

Also, Pakistan can acquire expertise from Chinese model of business, investment and wealth creation with an aim to be spent on less privileged segment of society, he said.

Imran Khan said since assumption of office, his earliest decisions among others was to facilitate foreign investors to encourage profitability.

Of progress on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he told the audience comprising Chinese businessmen and investors that a CPEC Authority was formed to resolve all the related issues.

Under Phase I, he said, Gwadar Free Zone had been completed, Gwadar Smart City master plan approved and matters of tariff and pending projects were resolved.

In Phase II, the cooperation would focus on agriculture as Pakistan being the world's best fertile land would like to learn from Chinese expertise in yield productivity, he added.

The prime minister said prominent reasons to invest in Pakistan included strategic location, 220 million population with 60 percent aging under 30, economic revival reforms and industrial clusters through Special Economic Zones.

"This is the right time to invest in Pakistan, as the country offers an improved business facilitation system and mindset as well," he said.

He said for Chinese investment, the areas of attraction included textiles, manufacturing, Information Technology, physical and technological logistics, food processing, agriculture, and tourism and hospitality. Also, the oil and gas sector and the gold and copper reserves offered tremendous opportunity, he added.

He said Pakistan is one of the safest places for investment in the world, with a special security force for the protection of Chinese workers.

He said the present government has also liberalized the visa regime and the Chinese can get the visas on arrival at the airport. He said this facility has been extended to other countries as well.