Lahore: Pakistan's deposed premier Nawaz Sharif has slammed Prime Minister Imran Khan for the "fraud" detected in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party's foreign funding, saying that he has been exposed as a "corrupt and dishonest political con man."
According to a damning report by the Election Commission recently, Prime Minister Khan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party grossly under-reported funds received from foreign nationals, firms, and also concealed its bank accounts.
The ruling party has under-reported an amount of PKR 312 million over a four-year period, between FY 2009-10 and FY 2012-13. The year-wise details reveal that an amount in excess of PKR 145 million was under-reported in FY 2012-13 alone.
“Finally, 'Mr Clean' has been exposed as a corrupt and dishonest political con-man. And the other dishonourable man (former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar) who declared him ‘Sadiq & Amin (honest)' to engineer my ouster has already been heard admitting his crime. Divine justice is done, only the legal one remains to be seen & done,” Sharif, who is also the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader, said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Sharif has been living in the UK in self-exile since November 2019. He had gone to London after the Lahore High Court granted him bail for four-weeks to get his treatment abroad. He was serving a seven-year term at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in a corruption case.
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Sharif said that the ECP's report now only has exposed Prime Minister Khan and PTI but what would happen when they would have to tell the names from whom they had taken money and where they spent it.
“You (Imran) have not only committed financial fraud but also insulted the title of Sadiq aur Ameen," he said.
His younger brother and Opposition leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said, “It has been clear now as to why the PTI was running away from the foreign funding case for the last seven years. Truth has a strange way of exposing people. The Scrutiny Committee's report is a damning indictment of IK (Imran Khan). The facade of 'Sadiq aur Ameen (honesty)' has been shredded into pieces”.
Sharif's daughter and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz said, “If you (Imran Khan) welcome the ECP's report, then why didn't you let this case proceed for the last seven years through force. Why did you keep running away (from the ECP's scrutiny of PTI foreign funding) for so many years and pleading not to make the scrutiny committee's report public? Do you think the people are fools who believe whatever you say… be ready as the time of your accountability is near.”
Opposition Pakistan People's Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari too reacted to the report.
“ECP report proving PTI foreign funding is a damning indictment not only of the party's corruption but exposes their hypocrisy. Simultaneously tax records reveal Imran Khan's income has increased more than 50 times since gaining power. Pakistan has become poorer but Imran is richer,” he said.
“After the scrutiny report by ECP, Imran Khan's ugly face tainted with corruption has been exposed. Imran Khan had taken an oath of telling the truth, but instead, he hid PTI's bank accounts from the ECP.
"The selected prime minister had embezzled crores of rupees, ridicules others for corruption, but it is now clear that Imran Khan was imposed on the country only under the guise of a so-called anti-corruption campaign. He made false promises and looted the country instead,” he said.
PTI
