Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that international media has named Asif Ali Zardari and held him responsible in receiving the kickbacks in armaments purchase scandal, between Pakistan and France, amounting to millions of rupees, while, on the other hand, a French court had levelled charge on culprits involved in this scandal.
The Chief Minister said that, in view of this development, it has become essential to hold high level investigations against the persons responsible in this matter in Pakistan and, through an independent judicial process, the real face of Asif Ali Zardari and others involved in it, should be exposed and taken to task, who have been responsible for loot and plunder in this armament deal.
In a statement here on Wednesday, Shahbaz Sharif said the levelling of charge in a country like France proves that the investigative institutions of that country possess concrete evidences and legal proofs against persons involved in the scandal. He said it has become essential to bring forth the characters involved in this despicable business as, due to conflict over getting commission, eleven precious lives were lost in a bomb blast in Karachi. He demanded that, through an independent investigative commission, the persons, involved in this case, must be exposed who collected money to fill their own pockets and inflicted heavy damage to the national interests. He said that reverberation of this case in international media is a matter of ponder, and all relevant institutions should take its notice.
Shahbaz said that those who have made Pakistan a laughing stock at international level would not be able to hide behind any curtain and those persons who undermined national interests and filled their own pockets through corruption would be pursued everywhere. He said that it is a matter of great shame that in Pakistan the cases are being delayed through use of government institutions, while the courts of other countries are unveiling such persons.