Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday reiterated his demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif. Talking to media persons at his Bani Gala residence here, he said that the joint investigation team (JIT) has proved that Ishaq Dar is a "confessed money launderer", and a money launderer has no right to control the economy of a country.
"You can't find a money launderer running the finance ministry anywhere in the world. The Senate Committee on Finance has also accused Dar of committing corruption to the tune of Rs 180 billion in circular debt-related spending, so he should step down immediately," he added.
He said the ruling party is levelling baseless allegations against the JIT as it failed to buy its members unlike Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) that were involved in obstruction of justice to protect the "criminal" Sharif family.
He came down hard on National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq who had sent a disqualification reference against him to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), saying instead of forwarding a reference against Nawaz Sharif, Ayaz Sadiq forwarded a reference against him to protect the Prime Minister. "The speaker balances and upholds the sanctity of the house, which Sadiq has failed to do and he has no right to stay on as speaker," he added.
"We are also going to court against Shahbaz Sharif," he announced repeating the allegation that he had granted his relatives the permission to form three sugar mills in a cotton-growing area - an act identified by courts as a 'conflict of interest,' according to Khan. To a question that PML-N has dubbed JIT report as 'Imran nama', Khan said that he thought of it as a compliment since it left his stance "vindicated."
Criticising the role of federal ministers in the fiasco, Khan said those who protect criminals are themselves their accomplices and, thus, they are criminals themselves, which cannot be accepted in a country like Pakistan. He said that the JIT report is not enough and all the ministers who are trying to defend the Prime Minister should be sent to prison, as they have plundered the taxpayers' money which a is serious crime.
The PTI chairman said that providing a money trail was not that difficult if one actually existed, adding that Jemima Khan, his former spouse, dug up 15-year-old bank statements for the Supreme Court case in which he has to provide a money trail for the assets he owns.
He said that he will submit whatever evidence the apex court asks for in a case pending before Supreme Court. "I have no fear as I have done nothing wrong, and I will submit every single receipt to the court," he added.