Imran vows to take PML-N accuser to court

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan announced on Tuesday that he would take Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif to the courts over his “false accusations” against the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Imran appealed to the chief justice to hear his case as soon as possible.
The PTI chairman said that he had challenged Nawaz Sharif with 11 questions on Friday, but the PML-N chief had not responded to any one of it. He said that unlike Nawaz he had not set up factories for his own benefit, but created welfare institutions such as Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and NAMAL College.
He said that he had responded to Chaudhry Nisar’s allegations by publicly showing the record of last 30 years’ tax returns, but that Nawaz had not responded to any of his allegation.
The PTI chief said that he had decided to take PML-N leader Khawaja Asif to court for leveling false allegations against the Shaukat Khanum Trust. He further said that he would take all those individuals to court, including Chaudhry Nisar, who had made false accusations against him. “The allegations were leveled in Ramazan as he (Khawaja Asif) knew this is the time when Shaukat Khanum Trust collects the majority of its donations. By hurling these allegations, the life of patients has been put in jeopardy,” he said.
Imran said that he was still waiting for PML-N President Nawaz Sharif to answer the eleven questions he had raised. “Nawaz Sharif hides behind Khawaja Asif and Chaudhry Nisar,” he said.
Imran announced that the Shaukat Khanum Trust was about to break ground on another cancer hospital in Lahore, and would build one in Karachi if land was provided.
“Since the elections are nearing, they are going to target Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and Sita White in their campaigns to malign my name. If he is truthful, then the case should be dealt by the Supreme Court so that the situation is made clear to the masses.”
Addressing the chief justice, he said that he was not building “factories” with the donation money, but was building institutions for the people of Pakistan. He said that the biggest responsibility of a politician was to secure public money and to spend it wisely. “Back in 1997, they ran the same campaign against me while I was abroad to collect funds. Only I know how I had saved the hospital in a state of declining fund,” Imran said. He said that if his hospital fails to provide free treatment to patients, the PML-N leader would accuse him of not providing the treatment despite asking for funds. On the other hand, PML-N leader Khawaja Asif welcomed Imran Khan’s decision to challenge his allegations in the court.