Panamagate probe: Nation will soon hear good news, says Imran

PTI chief claims the case will change the history of Pakistan

PESHAWAR: The PTI chief Imran Khan has claimed that the Sharif family and their ‘henchmen’ are unable to answer questions of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing their offshore assets and that the nation will very soon hear ‘good news’.

“Panama Papers have disclosed the Sharif family’s corruption but now they are targeting the PTI and have taken the entire country hostage just to escape this corruption case,” Imran said while talking to the media in Chitral at the inaugural ceremony of the 69MW Lawi Hydropower project in Drosh on Tuesday.

He said he was astonished that the Sharif family and the PML-N leaders were targeting him and his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Cancer Hospital (SKMTCH) when appearing before the JIT.

“I am astonished that members of the Sharif family and their henchmen target me as if I call them for interrogation,” he said.



The PTI chief criticised Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for targeting the SKMTCH and said he should be ashamed of himself as the hospital provides free cancer treatment to the poor.

He also rejected the PML-N leaders’ argument against summoning the PM’s daughter Maryam Nawaz before the JIT. “If [former prime minister] Benazir Bhutto could appear before a JIT then why not Maryam Nawaz?”

He said the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s total developmental fund was Rs110 billion while the Punjab government had spent Rs200 billion just on the Orange Line Project in Lahore.

Talking with reference to the Lawi Hydropower Project, Imran said the Rs20 billion project would be complete in five to six years. It would not only provide electricity to people of the area but would also create job opportunities for the people of Chitral, he added.



Later addressing a public gathering, the PTI chief said that the Panamagate case would change the history of Pakistan because for the first time a JIT was investigating corruption of leaders.

He said people were currently facing two mega problems, that of clean dirking water and electricity. He said in Punjab 57 per cent budget was allocated for Lahore but people of the city were facing 12 to 13 hours of loadshedding.

“Karachi is a rich city of Pakistan but its people don’t have clean dirking water while corrupt people are selling water to mint money,” he said, adding that it was the responsibly of the state to provide basic facilities to its citizens.

Imran said Pakistan generated costly electricity from fossil fuel. “To generate this electricity the country takes loans from the IMF and then pay it back by imposing taxes on common people. On every mobile phone card, government deducts Rs35 from common people,” he added.



He said the fuel-based electricity also created pollution and badly disturbed human lives. He said China had shut down 16 industries as they were run with coal and polluted the environment.

The PTI chief said Chitral has the potential to generate 2,900MW but it has been ignored from the day one. “The K-P government has, however, completed 200 projects of micro-hydropower while 375 are in the pipeline while the feasibility of 1,000 others has been completed,” he added.

He lauded the people of Chitral for use their vote in the right place, voting for the former president Pervez Musharaf as he had approved the project of Loweri Tunnel.

Imran, who is on a two-day visit to Chitral, earlier met PTI workers, listened to their problems and assured them that the issues would be resolved. He encouraged the local leaders to accelerate preparations for the upcoming general election.



Imran also visited the Governor Cottage and met people there. He will also inspect the Billion Tsunami Tree forestation sites in different parts of Chitral.