Islamabad
Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry Tuesday said Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) used Panama Papers as a political ploy after its allegations of electoral rigging were rejected by a judicial commission in 2014.
Addressing a press conference along with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of National Assembly Daniyal Aziz, he said the name of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not even mentioned in the Panama Papers but the PTI used it as a ploy against him. Nobody was tried in a court of law anywhere in the world on the issue of Panama Papers, he added.
He said the PTI damaged the political culture as instead of resolving issues of the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where it was in government; it started telling lies and abusing opponents, besides holding protests and staging sit-ins since 2013.
In response to the PTI’s protest, a judicial commission was formed, which rejected the allegations of rigging in the general election 2013, he recalled. The minister said the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was only making hollow claims and did nothing for improving health, education and other sectors.
Dr Tariq said the PTI threatened to lock down cities and tried to disturb routine life in the country on the issue of Panama Papers. When the Supreme Court started hearing the case, it tried to influence the court, he added.
He said PTI chief Imran Khan would stop talking about morality if he told the people that what was said in a court of California in a paternity case. The minister asked Imran Khan to stop using derogatory language against the prime minister and respect the Constitution and laws.
He reminded that the prime minister had himself asked for formation of a judicial commission to probe the Panama Papers. The minister said trhe PML+-N respected court decisions and would continue to do so in future as well.
He said the Chief Justice of Pakistan took notice of uncalled for hue and cry raised over the divided court verdict on the Panama Papers and asked Imran Khan to change his behaviour. Imran Khan and his party launched negative propaganda on the Panama Papers, he added.
He said the name of Maryam Nawaz was cleared in the case as the Supreme Court had rejected all the lies and propaganda of PTI. Daniyal Aziz said the Supreme Court should take up the petitions of Hanif Abbasi and others against Imran Khan and Jehangir Tareen in the case of Panama Papers and ownership of offshore companies.
He said the PML-N MNAs through the National Assembly Speaker had filed a reference against Imran Khan and Jehangir Tareen in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The ECP, in its verdict in the reference, stated that under Article 62 of the Constitution, the matters of parliamentarians before the general election 2013 could not be taken up.
But this principle was ignored in the case of Nawaz Sharif and decades old matters were heard in the Supreme Court, he added. Daniyal said Imran Khan and Jehangir Tareen admitted their financial wrongdoings in written statements, but their cases were still pending in the courts.—APP
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