On the basis of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) scathing report on the ruling PTI’s overseas financial case, deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has instructed his Pakistan Muslim League to assertively agitate the subject and not let both houses of parliament work smoothly until “justice” is accomplished.
The PML-supreme N’s leader, Shehbaz Sharif, has been told to begin convening workers’ conventions at the district and divisional levels in Punjab in order to mobilise party members ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) scheduled anti-inflation march on Islamabad early March.
“Do not allow (prime minister) Imran Khan off the hook because he was caught red-handed stealing money from the party’s overseas funds. “His so-called honest image has been utterly shattered, and he should be exposed before the nation,” Nawaz said via video link at a party meeting in Model Town on Thursday, which was attended by the party’s central and Punjab leadership, including Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz.
According to a participant, Nawaz Sharif was “quite categorical” about the ECP’s findings on the Pakistan Tehreek-i-foreign Insaf’s funding, telling PML-N leaders not to let the subject die down until it reaches its natural conclusion. Mr Sharif was cited as stating, “Don’t allow the National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, and Senate run smoothly, and actively agitate this topic in which Imran Khan’s true face has been exposed.”
Nawaz Sharif, who has been in the UK for’medical treatment’ since November 2019, exhorted the participants to expose Prime Minister Imran Khan’s alleged fraud on all platforms. “We don’t have to give ‘the selected’ an easy way out on this,” he insisted.
According to a party insider, taking the case to court was also discussed, but no decision was reached. He stated, “The party will first watch what action the ECP takes.”
“In March, Nawaz Sharif urged the party leadership to prepare for a decisive anti-inflation march on Islamabad, as planned by the PDM.” According to the insider, the former PM suggested holding workers’ conventions at the district and divisional levels, as well as completing the party’s reorganisation at the district level as soon as possible.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has also announced a long march against the PTI government in Islamabad on February 27.
The PML-N claimed in a statement that the ECP scrutiny committee’s findings against PTI and its chairman (Imran Khan) in a “illegal” foreign funding case that has been lingering for seven years is a “indictment.”
“Imran’s fellow party leaders illegally funded the PTI, extorted large sums of money from foreigners and foreign companies in violation of the law, and hid their bank accounts, sources of income, and accounts from the ECP.” The ECP received inaccurate certificates from Imran Khan about party accounts. Prior to this report, the election commission received a report from independent auditors, which revealed evidence of unlawful funding of Rs2.2 billion.”
According to the meeting, the four PTI central secretariat officials’ bank accounts and the money going into them, including embezzlement, were concealed, as were many other critical information, which was a legal requirement.
Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif stated in a statement that Imran Khan should quit immediately since he could no longer claim to be honest and trustworthy after being caught red-handed in the foreign money scandal.
“After it has been shown that he is involved in mis-declaration, purposeful hiding (of party money), misrepresentation, and fraud,” the opposition leader in the National Assembly stated, “Imran Niazi cannot hold both the prime ministership and the chairmanship of the PTI.”
