JIT making Nawaz a political martyr: Hashmi

Veteran politician says will never re-join PML-N

MULTAN: Former president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and veteran politician Makhdoom Javed Hashmi has said the joint investigation team (JIT) tasked with probing the allegations stemming from the Panamagate case has been making Nawaz Sharif “a national hero and political martyr”.

“They are not holding Nawaz Sharif accountable in real terms but creating more and more sympathy for him and making way for his political victory in the upcoming general elections next year,” Hashmi told reporters here.

“I have no doubt that after the JIT, Nawaz Sharif and his family can claim that they are descendants of holy families and martyrs of Karbala,” he added.

Hashmi said: “The prime minister only cares about his family, his son and his assets and does not care about the assets of the country and the common man,” he said, adding, “During the PML-N tenure, they took away all inherited property from me and my family, what to talk of a common man.



“I will never re-join the PML-N,” he clarified when asked about the possibility of going back into the fold of his former masters.

Talking about PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Hashmi said: “Due to lack of funds for the PTI, he has been selling tickets now, as corrupt PPP leaders can become part of any political party on the basis of their ill-gotten wealth.”

“If Imran wants me to join the PTI, then he has to come in public and tender an apology to me and the people of Pakistan for wrongly accusing me,” he said, adding “The PTI is not a political party and has a dictatorship-like hierarchy worse than the PML-N.”

Talking about the JIT, he said: “I know that how JITs are constituted in the county and how they have executed their work under personal monitoring of the ruling political parties.”



He clarified that he was not disgracing the honourable Supreme Court, saying “judges need to speak on merit”.

He said the PTI chairman should not have brought the prime minister in court “as this whole procedure will not make the future general elections transparent and independent”.

Hashmi feared that the PML-N would find ways to develop sympathy among people, and “this accountability for their corruption will be buried forever through this JIT”.

“The Supreme Court needs to devise proper mechanics of accountability and investigation for all corrupt politicians and bureaucrats including those in the military establishment.

“The way accountability is being carried out against the ruling family is only giving political benefit to the Sharif family as the institutions involved in carrying out the investigations are working under the prime minister.”

The veteran politician said corrupt, dishonest and tax evaders should be publicly named and shamed and added a fact-finding commission should be constituted for holding accountability of politicians, bureaucrats and army generals.

“First of all Imran Khan, Gen (retd) Raheel Sharif and I should be produced before the commission,” he said.