Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan Saturday accused Sharif family of getting Rs 3.8 billion bank loan written off in last 25 years. Addressing the sit-in participants at Azadi Square, Imran alleged that Sharif family had got these loans from banks and did not return the money.
"I urge you (the public) not to allow the prime minister and ministers from now onwards to run their businesses while being in power," he said, adding that there is 'conflict of interest law' in the European countries that prohibits the rulers to do business. Khan said the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa government has also passed the 'conflict of interest law' to bar legislators from doing business. "If any of the legislators is found guilty of doing business in KP, people can move court against him," he added. The Sharif family also spent Rs 2.5 billion from the exchequer to build a bridge for their sugar mill in Chiniot, he said. "Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Chiniot report says that Rs 220 million were spent from public health fund."
Quoting an official letter from the ministry of foreign affairs, Imran said the prime minister is going to spend Rs 40 million on his four-day trip to the United States. The prime minister is scheduled to visit the US to address the United Nations General Assembly.
Taking a jibe on the government, Imran said over 100 million Pakistanis have been living below the poverty line and around 400,000 children die each year due to consumption of water not fit for drinking but "the daily expenditure of both prime minister and president houses is Rs 4.2 million."
Khan said the prime minister's annual expenditure on foreign incursions stands at Rs 1.5 billion while annual security expenditure of Raiwind, the residence of Sharif family, stands at Rs 400 million. "A small group of people has occupied resources of the country while common man is deprived of even his basic human rights," he said. Giving details of measures taken for downtrodden by Khyber Pakhtunkhawa government, Khan said the minimum wage has been jacked up to Rs 15,000 and 28 percent of the total budget is being spent on education.
The KP government is also giving subsidy of Rs 10 per kg on wheat flour and Rs 40 per kg on vegetable oil to poor people besides provision of free medicines in all public hospital's emergencies. "We are building 350 small dams (in KP) to generate cheap electricity .... we will provide this electricity at Rs 2 per unit to people," he said. Khan also advised his workers not to attack any media house even if the party has some differences with a particular media group. He suggested that if some offices are under threat, the government should depute some police officers from the contingent of 30,000 cops deployed in Islamabad for the protests. Earlier, speaking atop Azadi March container of the PTI, Lord Nazir said Imran Khan's struggle is for the people of Pakistan. "If a parliamentarian in Britain fails to declare his assets, he can face expulsion," he said.