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  • Aug 15th, 2018
  • Comments Off on Crown Prince tells Imran: KSA interested in huge investment
The prime minister-designate Imran Khan on Tuesday said that the upcoming government of his party would learn from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's strategy which he embarked upon to eradicate the menace of corruption.

Khan stated this while talking to Prince Salman, who telephoned him to congratulate him on his party's victory in July 25 general elections, and is set to take oath as prime minister of the country on August 18.

A statement issued from PTI's central secretariat stated Prince Salman said that his country wants huge investment in Pakistan, adding both the countries enjoy warm relations, which could be further strengthened through more trade and investment.

Besides inviting Saudi investors to Pakistan, it added, Khan appreciated the Saudi crown Prince Salman's anti-corruption crackdown, saying eradication of corruption is a must for good governance.

Last year, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman, the 32-year-old heir apparent to the Saudi throne, unexpectedly staged a stunning roundup of hundreds of fellow members of the kingdom's wealthy and powerful elite. Money, power and princely standing offered no protection.

Before coming into power, Imran has also been talking about a ruthless accountability of corrupts including those within his own party. He also mentioned in his victory speech that he would not spare corrupts if they are present within his own party.

But PTI insiders believe it otherwise and are a bit skeptical about Khan's crackdown on the corrupt elements, saying he may end up compromising with his political opponent given presence of majority of electables - majority facing graft cases before anti-graft body - who are now part of his party.

"Majority of corrupts are now members of parliament from the platform of Khan's own party [PTI] and he hardly managed to form government along with his coalition parties," said a senior PTI leader who declined to be named.

"In such a situation, it is very unlikely that he may be able to apply Saudi model anti-c corruption drive here," he contended.

The statement further stated that Prince Salman congratulated Khan on his victory in the elections.

IK spoke of the warm relationship between the two countries and appreciated the Prince's efforts to wipe out corruption in Saudi Arabia and invited Saudi investment in Pakistan.

The phone call from the crown prince came a day after Imran Khan received a call from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and accepted his invitation to visit Saudi Arabia after taking oath as prime minister.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018


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