Minutes after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif finished his statement in the National Assembly regarding Panama Papers allegations, the opposition parties staged a walkout from the House.
After the session ended, both the government and opposition members rushed to claim that their side had won.
Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah said that instead of answering their seven questions, the prime minister had raised 70 new ones, while Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said the prime minister’s speech had delivered a knockout blow to detractors.
Talking to newsmen outside the Parliament House, Shah said the opposition is going to meet today (Tuesday) to discuss future strategy.
In his brief comment, Khursheed Shah said that the opposition had raised seven “innocent” questions which the prime minister’s response had turned into seventy.
“PM should have replied to our questions. But rather than answering simple questions, he has made new revelations about his family’s properties in Dubai and Jeddah. Since we don’t want to level new allegations, I will keep myself limited to our questions,” he said.
“The PM’s speech was incomplete, improper and inadequate. We don’t want to waste time of the House,” Shah said, leading a boycott which was joined in by all the lawmakers from the opposition parties.
HOLLOW, SUBSTANCELESS RESPONSE:
Leaders of the opposition parties gathered for a brief news conference outside the Parliament House and took turns criticising the prime minister’s speech.
Imran Khan, Khursheed Shah, Aitzaz Ahsan, Shaikh Rashid Ahmed and other party leaders from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and others were present for the press conference.
Aitzaz Ahsan said that the prime minister said during his speech that the Sharif family purchased flats in 2005 while these flats were bought in 1993-94 which has been established in the court verdict in the Al Toufeeq Trust case in London.
Imran Khan used the occasion to respond to allegations against himself and shared some documents with the media about the purchase of property through his offshore company. He said that while he was sharing all the documents regarding his income, the taxes he had paid, the money trail and other matters, the prime minister had failed to do so.
“The prime minister should show us the records regarding the purchase of flats in 2005 as he claims. I brought my money back to Pakistan while the PM took his money abroad,” he reiterated.
Showing documents regarding the purchase of the London flats by the prime minister, Imran Khan said that 17-Avenfield flat was purchased in June 1993 while 16-Avenfield flat was bought on July 31, 1995 through the offshore company Nescol.
Khan asserted that a third flat was bought in July 1996 while a fourth one was bought in 2004.
“Moreover, the PM spoke about his sons but did not mention his daughter’s assets. I have papers showing Maryam Nawaz was a beneficial owner of two companies. In contrast the PM submitted in his declaration in 2012 that Maryam was his dependent,” he said and argued that if the prime minister’s dependent can buy new flats, it means that it was not Maryam who purchased the flat and rather PM himself had paid for them.
Khan further took the prime minister to task over the rosy picture he had painted of his family’s huge assets, saying that he had documentary evidence which proved that from 1981 to 1993, “the rich PM” had an average monthly income of Rs 22,600.
“The yearly tax of the prime minister was only Rs 79,000 per annum. If he was so rich, why did he pay so little in taxes? And, we are talking about thousands of rupees, so how does it explain having hundreds of millions rupees worth of property, the PTI chief said and added that the prime minister failed to tell the truth on the floor of the parliament.
“Even I paid more tax in 1982 than the prime minister; a poor man like myself,” Khan said, and added, “If he has nothing to hide, the prime minister could have answered all the questions in five minutes by submitting all the documents about his earnings and assets as I have done,” Khan remarked.
He said that Sharif had lost an opportunity to speak the truth once again.
“My name is not mentioned in Panama Papers but even I am answering all the questions. The prime minister’s name features in Panama Leaks but he is not ready to answer our questions,” Khan said.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that only 141 of the treasury members had attended the session on Monday despite so much effort put in by the government to ensure maximum attendance.
“This shows they are losing support of their own members,” Rashid claimed.
WE ANSWERED OPP’S QUESTIONS AND THEN SOME:
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar showered praises on the premier for making a ‘comprehensive’ speech which had all the all the answers floated by the opposition.
“The opposition walkout was unwarranted as the prime minister’s speech answered all their questions,” he said.
Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said, while responding to the opposition’s walkout that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had spoken the truth in the National Assembly while the opposition had chosen to run away instead of giving a reply.
Talking to media persons outside the Parliament House along with Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, he said that the prime minister’s speech in the National Assembly had left the opposition speechless and they were left with no option but to flee from the House.
Pervaiz Rashid said that the Prime Minister had knocked out the opposition by bringing the facts regarding the Panama Leaks in his speech before the House.
“PM’s truth knocked out the opposition’s lie,” he said.
He said that the people were expecting that Imran Khan too will answer the allegations about his offshore companies. However, he had walked out of the National Assembly instead of telling the truth to the nation.
He said that instead of participating in the debate in the National Assembly, Imran Khan opted to walk out from the House as he had no truth to tell.
The minister said that Imran Khan had himself admitted that he created an offshore company for tax evasion.
He said if the prime minister of the country can answer allegations leveled against him during the last three weeks then surely the opposition should follow suit.
The minister said that the prime minister, besides coming to the House, had accepted all the demands of the opposition regarding the constitution of a commission for investigating the Panama Leaks.
I am still looking for the point by point answer by Nawaz Sharif. I can't find it. I wonder if his ministers would care to enlighten the nation since we are so dumb and can't seem to find simply answers to simple questions. If this is the caliber of talent Nawaz Sharif has surrounded himself with then all I can say is that just to Allah that Pakistan survives.
Maybe if Khan had had the nerve to stay in parliment and engage in robust debate he would have go some answers. He ran away instead.
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