LAHORE – In his ‘ultimatum’ to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan warned to ‘shut down’ Islamabad if the “PM does not present himself for accountability”.
“I promise you, there will be no rallies after tonight. PTI won’t be staging any more rallies against the prime minister. Rather, we will go for Islamabad and shut it down,” Imran told a crowd of supporters here at Adda Plot.
In his 80-minute speech, the PTI chairman gave a “final warning” to the prime minister, saying that the leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz “must present himself for accountability till Muharram”.
Imran, however, did not announce any date for the party’s future move, saying that he would announce the date after the month of Muharram, which is likely to commence from Monday.
Panama revelations
Referring to the statements of various members of the Sharif family regarding the ownership of their London flats, the PTI chief said that the prime minister was culpable for concealment of wealth, corruption, tax evasion and money laundering.
Imran also showed video footages of various Sharif family members making conflicting statements about the ownership and period of purchase of the London flats. He pointed out that the London High Court had attached the flats of the Sharif family in 2004. If they were not owned by them at the time, how the London court ordered their attachment, he asked.
The PTI chief said that Maryam Nawaz owned two companies back in 2006 which owned the London flats. “If she did not have money and was a dependent of her father as she claimed in an interview in 2013, how were the flats purchased?” he questioned.
Nawaz Sharif, Imran said, also claimed in his tax returns that Maryam was his dependent. This, he said, meant that the prime minister set up companies in the name of his daughter who purchased the properties.
The video clips also contained statements by Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar and Evacuee Trust Property Board Chairman Siddiqul Farooq; the former said back in 2012 that the London flats had been purchased by the Sharifs 20 years ago, and the latter said in an interview that he had stayed in the Sharifs’ London flats in 1996.
The PTI chairman said that the National Accountability Bureau, Federal Board of Revenue, Federal Investigation Agency and the Supreme Court should discharge their duties and investigate the matter which, in his words, was an open and shut case.
‘Peace, not war’
Commenting on the escalation of violence between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue, Imran Khan said that war was not the preferable solution to the escalation of violence.
“I believe in peace, not war. The people of (Indian-held) Kashmir, for the past 26 years, have been witnessing violence and brutalities. The government of Narendra Modi cannot deprive them of their right of self-determination,” said the PTI chairman.
Imran said people of Pakistan did not want war with India but they were ready to give it a befitting response in case of any aggression imposed on them. He also referred to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “an extremist and warmonger who only knows how to please hardliners”.
'Wasteful expenditures'
The PTI chairman said many nations were destroyed in the past because there were different yardsticks for enforcement of law on the rich and the poor. “But Allah wants establishment of justice on land.”
Imran Khan praised his party activists for holding the rally near the residences of the prime minister on the security walls of which “Rs600 million of public money had been spent”. Also, he said, an amount of Rs 8.5 billion had been spent on the security of the ruling family during the past eight years.
The PTI chairman said many “Firauns” had lost power in the past and the time for Nawaz Sharif was also about to be over.
Accusing the prime minister of making wasteful expenditure, Imran said, “If he (Nawaz Sharif) wants to live like Mughal emperors he should spend from his own pocket, not public money.