Imran accuses PM of tax evasion despite being ‘third richest person in the country’

Continuing his criticism, PTI chief elaborates statement about Nawaz Sharif being 'most corrupt person in Pakistan'

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan continued his tirade against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, saying that that despite being the third richest person in the country, the premier’s name is not among even the top 10,000 taxpayers of the country.

“Today, I want to explain my statement regarding Nawaz Sharif being the most corrupt person in Pakistan,” Imran told reporters at a press conference in Lahore on Thursday.

Addressing a massive crowd in Okara on Wednesday, the PTI chief had called the premier “the most corrupt person of Pakistan” and accused him of laundering money, tax evasion and corruption.

Read: Imran labels Nawaz as 'most corrupt in Pakistan'

Imran went on to say that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government failed to live up to the promises they made to the nation during the 2013 election campaign.

“Initially, Shahbaz Sharif promised to end load-shedding in six months; then, Nawaz announced to end load-shedding by 2017 and now National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) says it cannot be eliminated until 2020.”

The accusations didn’t stop there as the PTI chief went on to say that people were charged 70% extra in the power bills due to the government’s corruption and embezzlement.

“Wapda had to bear a Rs980-billion loss due to the misappropriation and irregularity of funds by the government,” he said, quoting a report published by the Auditor General of Pakistan.

Further, he said the cost of the Nandipur project had risen to Rs84 billion from just Rs22 billion also owing to corruption, and added that the government was now shifting the blame on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which conceived the project.

Imran called for an inquiry for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to unearth the irregularities carried out in the project.

Read: Prosperity linked with justice system: Imran

The PTI chief accused Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif of having acquired the project from Wapda and used it for personal advertising while the project was shut after working only for a week.

Imran further demanded an independent audit into the Neelum Jhelum project, saying the government did not allocate the required funds for the project which delayed it and subsequently, increasing its cost.

Furthermore, the PTI chairman censured the government over increasing circular debt. “

Accusing the PML-N of looting the public’s money by selling off public assets, Imran said the current government has left the Pakistan Steel Mills and the Pakistan International Airlines practically crippled, although these institutions were generating profit in the past.

“Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s private airline Air Blue minted Rs60 million within a week by increasing its fares, taking advantage of the recent dispute between PIA management and pilot’s association,” he said.

Read: Imran warns party MPs against opposing CoI bill in K-P Assembly

Citing remarks of Leader of the Opposition in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan, Imran lamented that Nawaz had a history of tax evasion, claiming the prime minister only paid Rs470 in the early 90s and Rs5,000 upon his return from exile. “It is only after the PTI highlighted the issue that Nawaz paid more tax than he ever did in the past.”

Imran also referred to Raymond Baker’s book Capitalism’s Achilles Heel to highlight the corruption of Nawaz Sharif during his earlier tenures, alleging Nawaz of embezzling Rs42 billion in the 90s.