Panamagate case hearing: Information minister advises Imran to prepare for polls

Says doubts created by PTI will be cleared before court

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan should make preparations for general elections scheduled to be held next year instead of levelling baseless allegations against Maryam Nawaz.

Talking to media persons after the Panama Papers case hearing in the Supreme Court, the minister said the documents on the basis of which claims were being made by the PTI, were already available with the court.

“It is better for him [Imran] to prepare for next year polls as he would be facing Maryam Nawaz then,” she added.

The minister stated that PTI, in their petition, had claimed that Maryam Nawaz was a dependent of the premier and beneficial owner of the properties.

While, the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s counsel had proven that his client had no link with any property or business, she added.

She alleged that PTI has submitted fake documents before the court that contained three different signatures of Maryam Nawaz.

Marriyum further said that after observing that all the doubts and ambiguities created by PTI regarding the Panama Papers were being dissipated during the Supreme Court hearings, Imran was now seeking a way out.

“PTI chief has no counter-evidence to produce before the apex court in reply to the documents submitted by the counsels for the prime minister and Maryam Nawaz,” she said.

She expressed the confidence that the remaining doubts and ambiguities created by the PTI chief about money laundering and tax evasion would also be cleared before the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2017.