ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, made revelations about former president Musharraf’s tenure, alleging that the former President kept him and Ishaq Dar in ‘solitary confinement’ to obtain confessional statement against Nawaz Sharif.
Khawaja Asif said that Dar’s confessional statement was taken under 'duress' and the it dates back to 2000.
“He was kept in confinement for 23 months,” said the defence minister while giving an interview to a local news channel.
Khawaja Asif said that in order to obtain a confessional statement against the premier, he and Ishaq Dar were kept confined in Attock Fort for a long time.
He said that Dar was under immense pressure as some employees of the Ittefaq Foundry, in order to save themselves, had placed blame on Dar.
“I am an eye-witness to this entire matter,” said the defence minister.
He said that both him and Dar were kept in 4x6 feet cells and were rarely taken out of them. The impact was severe that Ishaq Dar started to have serious health concerns and lost 30 pounds. Khawaja Asif said that there was always someone taking them out on gunpoint with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded.
The matter of Dar’s statement arose during the hearing of the Panama Case in the Supreme Court.
Dar’s counsel, Shahid Hamid, in his arguments expressed to the SC larger bench that his client had completely rejected the confessional statement regarding money laundering.
Hamid had added that Ishaq Dar had been forced to sign a pre-prepared confessional statement.
It was in October 1999 when Army Chief Pervez Musharraf toppled Nawaz Sharif’s democratically elected government and took over the country’s charge as Chief Executive.