LAHORE - As the PTI’s Islamabad show draws near, political atmosphere has been highly charged with Punjab chief minister wowing to file a defamation suit against PTI chief, who accused him of receiving kickbacks.
The CM told a press conference here yesterday that Imran Khan was telling gross lies against him about the spending made on the development projects.
Out and out denying the allegations levelled by Imran about corruption of billions of rupees in Metro Bus Lahore and energy projects in Punjab, he said he would file a Rs26.54 billion suit for damages against the PTI chairman.
“I will return money and quit politics for good if I failed to prove my innocence and Imran Khan will be accountable to 200 million people of Pakistan if he failed to prove his case,” Shehhaz said, adding that he would like quickest decision of the case through day-to-day hearing by the court so that chaff could be separated from the fodder at the earliest.
“The PTI chairman has stooped low to levelling cheap and baseless allegations against his government after the prime minister has taken the wind off Imran Khan’s Islamabad protest sails by offering himself to the Supreme Court scrutiny about Panama allegations”, the chief minister said.
He labelled PTI’s Islamabad closedown move a conspiracy against CPEC project and the country’s journey to progress and development.
“Dharna politics of 2014 was aimed at causing serious damage to Pakistan-China friendship and the PTI is going to cause the same kind of loss to the country again on November 2”, he observed.
In opposing CPEC, Imran Khan has even surpassed Indian PM Narendra Modi, he said while referring to a report by Pildat, an NGO, which found the Punjab government the best of all in development, transparency and the public welfare projects.
Shehbaz said since his very first government in 1997 to the present one, corruption of not even a single penny tainted his governance. “Not me but my family members may be held accountable if corruption of (a) penny is proved about my governance even if I am no more,” he said.
“Rather, I saved Rs112billion in gas power projects and Rs75billion to Rs80billion in Metro Orange Line Train which is unprecedented in the history of the country.”
wherein he described contractor Javed Sadiq as front-man to Shehbaz Sharif to make money by obtaining Punjab government contracts of billions of rupees
Addressing Imran Khan’s allegations, the chief minister rubbished all charges as totally false, fabricated and malicious. The allegations that the alleged front-man Javed Sadiq was awarded Arifa Karim IT Tower contract by PML-N government was ridiculous as the contract was in fact awarded by Ch Pervez Elahi government. In other gas transactions Javed, who represented a Chinese company, failed to win the bid but in the contract of Lahore Ring Road his company had non-responding bid, the CM added.
He strongly belied Imran’s allegations that Rs75 billion were spent on Lahore Metro Bus and steel worth billions of rupees from his family concern (now with the banks), Ittefaq Foundries, was used. “It is absolutely mendacious and baseless. Ittefaq Foundries is out of operation over the last 17 years, how it can manufacture steel as such,” he posed.
The chief minister in a counterblast grilled Imran Khan saying, PTI chief stands flanked on one side by the richest person who swallowed crores of rupees of the banks and the other by one who minted billions of rupees by grabbing land of the poor. “They both fund Imran Khan.”
Shehbaz said Imran levelled charges without any proof but he will go to the court with concrete evidence.
Referring to his meeting with the PM the same day, he said, the government is clear that no-one will be allowed to closedown Islamabad and security of the people and the installation will be ensured at all costs.