ZULFIQAR AHMAD
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan Thursday lambasted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over his indirect diatribe against ‘military and judiciary’ for hatching a ‘conspiracy’ against his government.
He said it was ‘quite shameful’ that the Prime Minister was portraying the investigation as some sort of a malicious campaign against his family. “Through his speech, Nawaz Sharif has suggested that military and judiciary are jointly behind this campaign,” he regretted.
The chairman PTI said he wants to remind the Prime Minister that after the new Army Chief and Chief Justice took their oaths last year, his daughter Maryam Safdar had tweeted that the “storm has passed... meaning the conditions were now favourable” for her family.
“This means both the new Army Chief and Chief Justice were people who have complete confidence in them [Sharifs]... today, they [the Sharifs] are pointing fingers at the same people,” said Khan.
The Sharif family has done this for the past 30 years, he said, adding the ‘umpire’ is either their own or against them.
He said that the Prime Minister has nothing new to provide to the joint investigation team (JIT) probing money laundering allegations against his family, as the Sharifs have no vital evidence to prove his offshore accounts.
About the written speech of the Prime Minister which he read out after appearing before the JIT, Khan said that there was nothing new as he had repeated the rhetoric several times in the past.
“They [Sharifs] have not provided anything new... any evidence to the JIT. Their only defence in the investigation was Qatari Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani’s letter,” he said.
Khan further stated that the Qatari Prince refused to appear before the court, leaving the Sharifs in a serious trouble.
Later, speaking at a press conference, PTI leader Asad Umar along with Fawad Chaudhry asked the Prime Minister to reveal openly the name whom he referred as a ‘stooge’ during his written speech.
“There is no need to be coward if the Prime Minister knows who is conspiring against his party government,” he said.
He said that the Prime Minister’s family failed to provide money trail for his offshore accounts.
“We will take this accountability process to its logical end. We are ready for election and 2018 is still too far. If the Prime Minister is so confident of victory, he should dissolve assemblies right away,” he added.
He said that the nation must salute Khan as it was he who forced Nawaz Sharif to appear before a JIT like a prime accused. “There is no difference among supermodel Ayan Ali, Uzair Baloch, Saulat Mirza, Ajamal Pahari and Nawaz Sharif as all of them appeared before different JITs,” he added.
“This is a matter of shame and the precedent being set here is not a matter of pride,” he further said. Chaudhry also called the Prime Minister’s appearance before the JIT as a “historical moment for the people of Pakistan.”
