FAZAL SHER

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif Saturday said not a single case of embezzlement of government resources was ever proved despite repeated accountability of Sharif family.

In a white land cruiser driven by no other than interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Shahbaz arrived at the JIT Secretariat at 11am amid tight security and appeared before the JIT, headed by Additional Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Wajid Zia, in connection with investigation of his family’s offshore assets.

Talking to mediapersons after about four hours JIT session, Shahbaz said this was not the first time his family was held accountable but his family has been called for accountability for the fifth time.

Shahbaz said that today he appeared before the JIT constituted by the apex court. “The JIT summoned me to appear before it as somebody “acquainted with the facts of the Panamagate scandal,” he said, adding that he appeared before the JIT and recorded his statement with utmost respect.

He said that whatever questions the JIT asked, he answered to each and every question to the best of his knowledge.

The chief minister said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also appeared before the JIT for the first time in the history of the country. Now, an elected chief minister appeared before the JIT constituted by the apex court and presented his stance, he added.

He said his family while appearing before the JIT proved that they had great respect for the law and the Constitution.

Shahbaz further said that his appearance along with the prime minister before the JIT is enough to differentiate the respect given to the judiciary by military dictators and elected people.

“We have proved that our family has great respect for the law, unlike the military rulers who usurped power at gunpoint,” he added.

While criticising his opponents, he said he has a history of backache problem but he didn’t use it as an excuse to skip the JIT summon.

“I did not go and get admitted at AFIC [Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology] in Rawalpindi nor did I go to London. The apex court constituted the JIT and I presented my stance before it,” he said.

He said this is not the first time that they have been put to trial and people should not forget that his family’s first accountability started back in 1972 when their family’s Ittefaq Foundries nationalized during Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) regime.

“The foundry was not made through licenses acquired at Punjab Club parties. Our father and his brothers had set it up,” Shahbaz said.

“Between 1988 and 1990, our family’s second trial took place during Benazir Bhutto’s first government and then again in 1993 and 1996, the Sharif family suffered losses worth billions of rupees due to conspiracies against them,” he added.

He said during Musharraf’s era, he was handcuffed and taken to prison. I have not talked about this before publicly as it was a matter of shame, but I am admitting it today because we have been subjected to accountability,” he added.

The chief minister said this is the fifth time they have been subjected to accountability but like the past all allegation will be proved false.

Earlier, Shahbaz reached the FJA to appear before the JIT. He looked confident and waved to the camera before heading inside.

He was accompanied by his son, Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on his way to JIT Secretariat.

A large number of PML-N workers and lawyers including women supporters of Shahbaz Sharif gathered at I-8 Chowk and at the

adjoining areas of FJA but the police did not allow them to move toward the JIT Secretariat.

The police also barred Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, State Minister Abid Sher Ali, Zaeem Hussain Qadri, Hanif Abbasi and other PML-N leaders from going towards the FJA.

The city police and other Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) made comprehensive security arrangements at the FJA and the adjoining areas with the deployment of 2,500 security personnel. All roads leading to the Academy were blocked for traffic to avoid any untoward incident.