State Minister for Information and Broad-casting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that deliberate attempts have been made to form bogus cases against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Addressing the media persons following the hearing of Panama Papers case by the Supreme Court's special implementation bench, Marriyum said the documents obtained through informal sources are liable to scrutiny and verification.
She claimed that all the wealth statements and tax record of the Prime Minister are available on the government's websites. She said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made history by presenting himself for accountability in front of a joint investigation team (JIT). Criticising the JIT for being "unprofessional," she said the JIT exceeded its mandate, adding that the documents presented by the investigators are unverified. The minister said the JIT did not approach any foreign government to acquire evidence and instead relied on a 'dubious' law firm, owned by the JIT head's cousin. "Such evidence is inadmissible in court," she claimed.
"Not a single penny has ever been misappropriated by Nawaz Sharif during any of his terms in office," the minister claimed. Aurangzeb said the Prime Minister, with the support of the people, will win another term in office in the next general election. PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry declared the Panamagate a 'game of power and not of accountability.' "Those who could not become ministers or prime minister are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the court. This [Panama case] game is not about accountability, it's about power," claimed Talal, as he lashed out at political opponents.
Targeting the JIT, the PML-N leader said the team collected incomplete and faulty material. "The JIT itself kept violating the law," he alleged, adding that the JIT has clearly defied the law by hiring the British forensic company Quist Solicitors, which is allegedly owned by a family member of the JIT head, to investigate, collect and dispatch relevant documents. "The puppets of this conspiracy are Imran Khan and his nephew Bilawal Bhutto Zardari," he alleged.
He said that opposition parties have made it a "game" for domain than justice. He also rejected Bilawal's appeal to the Prime Minister to step down, saying the elder (Imran) couldn't make Nawaz Sharif resign, how could Bilawal "being a kid" can do it. Talal alleged that Imran Khan does not want prosperity of the country. He said that the country under Nawaz Sharif has increased electricity generation significantly that has reduced load-shedding. He also pointed towards the economic development of the country and said that Imran Khan wants to stop national development.
Taking a dig at Imran Khan, Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), Tariq Fazal Chaudhry claimed that the assets of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief are going to be seized by the court.
"The next elections will reveal his (Imran's) wrongdoings," Chaudhry said. Meanwhile, PML-N leader Daniyal Aziz said Imran Khan is a 'proclaimed offender' and is not appearing before the court. "Imran Khan has not been submitting replies in courts and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)," he said. He said that the entire 'Panamagate drama' is being carried out for the 2018 elections. Daniyal Aziz said that Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister in 2013 after defeating all the parties in opposition with a big margin and he will again do the same in 2018 election.
Lashing out at Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, PML-Q chief Chaudhary Shujaat and other opponents, Federal Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali said the opposition parties want to topple the democratic system in the country. He also criticised President Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rasheed and challenged him to exchange his assets with him. "Sheikh Rashid claims to be a worker, but he owns property worth millions of rupees along motorway and has made farmhouses through corruption. Sheikh polished Nawaz Sharif's shoes for 25 years, and he should commit suicide by drowning himself into Nullah Lai," he said.
Terming PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi as "Triple Shah" (fraudster), he said that Qureshi should tell the nation how many billions of rupees he has received as offerings from his devotees and how much taxes he has paid. Abid Sher Ali asked the Chaudhry Brothers (Chaudhary Shujaat and Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi) to tell the nation about their Benami properties abroad.
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