The Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid has alleged that international oil mafia may have paid Khan to sabotage government's efforts aimed at launching cheap hydel and coal electricity generation projects in the country.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the information Minister said that Khan's income details reflect that he earned 8.44 million rupees through his foreign services, but he never explained the services and recipients beneficiary of his services. "Khan is a head of political party and he has to explain about his foreign services to the nation. We will doubt his loyalty, if he doesn't explain it," the minister maintained.
He alleged that the Chinese President's visit to Pakistan was cancelled due to anti-government sit-in of the PTI and Khan has played a major role in sabotaging government's efforts to overcome energy crisis, as several hydel and coal electricity projects could not be signed due to the postponement of Xi's visit.
Khan was opposing the installation of coal-based energy plants. He said despite his efforts to destroy government's initiative in relation to availability of cheap energy, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself visited China and signed $42 billion agreements on coal-energy projects while Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif successfully persuaded the US investors and the World Bank to invest in hydro electric projects, the minister claimed.
Pakistan is amongst the countries which are generating electricity using furnace oil, "so international oil mafia may have paid Khan to create hindrances in such projects," he added. Rashid claimed that Khan has declared himself defaulter in a bid to evade agriculture tax amounting to Rs .5 million, however, his annual agriculture income is around Rs 2.3 million. Khan has paid a total tax of Rs 194,936 in 2014, he added.
He said Khan's tax details do not correspond with the income that he derives from his property, businesses and agriculture. He said Khan's lifestyle is lavish as he owns three huge residences while paying a huge sum of money in terms of electricity bills. Responding to the allegations levelled by PTI chief against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Rashid said the sugar mills owned by the PM paid over Rs 2.4 billion taxes between 2005 and 2014.
Giving the break-up of taxes paid by the PM individually on account of personal income and agriculture, the Information Minister said the PM has paid total of Rs 30.23 million from 2007-2014, which included Rs 6.64 million agriculture tax and the rest is income tax.
He said the family of the Prime Minister living in Pakistan, including Begum Kulsoom Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz, has paid Rs 554.66 million as tax from 2007-2014. He added that Nawaz Sharif paid Rs 2.69 million income tax and Rs 2 million agriculture tax in 2014. He said that strangely Imran Khan in his tax returns has shown that he has Rs 10.36 million cash in hand. It is quite interesting because these days people use credit and debit cards and nobody could believe that Imran himself goes to market to purchase daily use items, the minister added. It is generally believed that such a big amount of cash in hand is normally black money, the minister said, adding that some people have such big amount as cash in hand who make purchases of prohibited items. If Imran fails to justify why he carries such a big amount in his pocket on the container, his opponents would be justified to conclude that the amount is illegally earned money.
During the press conference, a video clip was played about Khan's residences in Bani Gala Islamabad, Zaman Park Lahore and Diplomatic Enclave Islamabad. A video clip about agricultural lands of Imran Khan in Bhakkar and Khanewal was also played, showing labourers in pathetic conditions. Rashid termed Imran an absentee landlord who never visited his agricultural lands to witness the "pathetic conditions" of his workers. The minister said that Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in 1999 handed over some of his assets to a consortium of banks against outstanding dues, and after 11 years justice has been done and the fact has come to fore through a National Bank statement.
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