Panamagate scandal: ‘Top court’s ruling to seal Pakistan’s future’

Imran vows to punish looters and plunderers by sending them to jail

BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Sunday said the Supreme Court is uniquely placed to determine what kind of country Pakistan will become in the future through its impending decision on the Panamagate scandal.

“If we clear [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif and his children of corruption charges then similar tactics will be used in the future to launder money through offshore companies which will make the poor poorer,” he told a public gathering in Bahawalpur.

He went on to say that it is time the nation also figured out if it wanted to let a small coterie to continue to rule the country through loot and plunder and stash all their ill-gotten gains abroad. Instead, he said, those involved in loot and plunder of the country’s resources should be jailed. “The rulers are making every effort to hide their crimes,” he said.



“Eight years ago, each Pakistani was shackled in debt of Rs35,000 which has now increased manifold to Rs120,000, because money is being laundered to other countries and Pakistan has to take loans to run its affairs,” he claimed.

Imran recalled that when he had accused Nawaz Sharif of corruption 18 years ago the PML-N leader strongly contested the claim. “But the Panama leaks have well and truly exposed the Sharifs,” he said.

“Nawaz claims that his sons Hassan and Hussain have earned everything through hard work. But they were only students in 1999 and yet in a matter of two years they earned billions to buy expensive properties abroad,” the PTI leader said incredulously.

He claimed that Nawaz did not want Maryam’s name to come up in the issue because she was living with him during the period.

Imran accused the prime minister of laundering money and declaring Maryam Nawaz as the owner of the [London] property.

The PTI chief also took aim at the Punjab-centric governance of the Sharifs. He stated that 57 per cent of Punjab’s total budget was being spent on Lahore. “While Metro buses are being introduced, people of South Punjab are still the ones deprived of basic facilities like health”.

Taking a jibe at Khawaja Asif, Imran said that the defence minister had said the Panamana Papers was not an issue for the Pakistani people. “If it is not Pakistan’s business, is it India’s issue then?” he asked.

Speaking at the Dring Stadium, the PTI chief said that he had first announced his party’s 2014 sit-in in Bahawalpur. “Pakistan’s fate has changed since the last sit-in,” Imran said adding that judging by the awareness amongst the masses he was sure nothing could stop Pakistan from become a developed state.

Talking about the cricket team, Imran chief vowed that no other cricket team in the world would be able to beat Pakistan after PTI came into power. “Our team does not lose because there is a lack of talent.

There is no lack of talent in this country but we do not polish our talent,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2017.