ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that time was running out for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was destined to go to Adiala Jail for submitting fake documents to the Supreme Court.

Earlier in the morning, Supreme Court judge Ijazul Ahsan said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s children may face consequences for submitting forged documents to the joint investigation team (JIT) probing the ruling family’s offshore assets. The SC judge said the Dubai government had revealed that documents of Gulf Steel Mills submitted by the Sharif family were fake.

However, the PM said in his address in Upper Dir that opposition parties were begging for his resignation. He said that those demanding his resignation would once again be rejected by the masses.

“It is incomprehensible whom Nawaz Sharif is hurling threats at,” Imran said while talking to the media in Peshawar. He was there to witness signing of an agreement between the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) and a consortium of Sino-Hydro and Sappier on construction of a 150MW Sharmai hydel power station in Dir. He said that Nawaz was hurling threats at him and the Supreme Court. He added that Nawaz had repeatedly said that he was ready to present himself for accountability and the JIT was set up to carry out further investigation.

“Instead of accepting that he consistently told lies, Nawaz is asking why he is being held accountable. He does not have much time,” Imran said.

He said the Sharif family had no original document and those submitted to the court were fake and forged. “The Supreme Court rejected Qatari prince’s letter,” he said, adding that the Sharif family had lied over and over in the court.

The PTI chief asserted: "Arrangements are being made at Adiala Jail for the prime minister," he said. He said the prime minister would be disqualified and he would also serve a jail term. He said that 12 cases were pending against Nawaz Sharif in NAB. He said the premier had opened companies to promote corrupt practices. He made it clear that he was not asking for PM’s resignation now as he would be “automatically jailed with the rest of crooks”.

“There is no need to hit the roads now as whoever rejects the Supreme Court verdict will violate the constitution,” the PTI chief maintained. He said Nawaz did not allow live broadcast of his address in Dir because he was scared of hearing 'Go Nawaz Go' slogans. "Gone are the days of threats. This is age of social media," he said.

“In democracies, leaders are held accountable,” he said, equating Sharif with Mughal emperors.

Later, talking to the media in Islamabad, Imran said he was proud that overseas Pakistanis were returning to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He said it was success of the government.

To a question whether the prime minister will resign or not, the PTI chief said he believed the premier would now go to Adiala Jail. In his latest tweets about documents that were submitted by the ruling family, the PTI chief said that submitting forged documents to the Supreme Court was another crime of the Sharifs. Such documents were aimed at obstructing justice, he said.

“Apart from money laundering (and) corruption, another emerging major crime of Sharifs is producing fraudulent documents before SC to obstruct justice,” Khan tweeted during the hearing of Panama Papers implementation case in the Supreme Court for fourth consecutive day on Thursday.

Khan, the main petitioner in the case, said treating the masses as dumb was the biggest crime. “Biggest crime is to treat the nation as dumb and with such contempt – assuming they can fool the entire nation all the time,” the PTI chairman added in his subsequent tweet.

OUR STAFF REPORTER