- Ruling party calls report a political statement, Imran-nama and PTI papers; says Volume X should be made public
The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) on Monday rejected the final report of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), saying the ruling party is analysing every perspective of the findings.
Flanked by ministers and senior party members, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal told a press conference that the ruling party would unveil contradictions in this report in front of the Supreme Court.
He strongly rejected the report as worthless trash which served Imran Khan’s agenda. Choosing to focus on the fact that the report focused on the Sharif family’s personal businesses rather than mismanagement or corruption while holding public office, the minister termed it a compilation of political accusations against the government.
He said that this report was a political statement which reads like an Imran-nama. On the occasion, Barrister Zafarullah Khan said it was not a JIT report rather a PTI report. “Four out of the six members of the JIT had no prior experience in handling legal investigations,” he added, attempting to undermine its credibility.
He also resorted to personal attacks against individual members of the JIT, accusing them of being anti-PML-N. He accused the JIT of witness tampering and attempting to twist the investigation to suit its ends. “We hope the Supreme Court bench will send this report into the trash bin, where it rightfully belongs,” he said.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that nothing in the report can be verified or be admissible as evidence as it was based on information provided by sources. “The JIT report has relied heavily on the statements of [PPP leader] Rehman Malik. I think taking his name is enough to reveal the plot behind it [report],” he said.
“We will destroy every allegation raised in the report one by one,” he said. Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the party had previously expressed its reservations regarding the attitude of the JIT, saying the government had expected the JIT to submit something similar.
“There are so many contradictions in this report that anybody who reads it objectively will understand its true purpose,” he said. He said that the JIT report made one reminiscent of former ruler Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, where baseless allegations were rampant.
He said that Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz do not live in Pakistan and were overseas Pakistanis. Through tweets, PML-N leader and prime minister’s daughter Maryam Nawaz issued a strongly-worded statement on behalf of her party regarding the report. “JIT report rejected. Every contradiction will not only be contested but decimated in SC. Not a penny of public exchequer involved: PMLN.”
Talking to media outside the Supreme Court, State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali said that the JIT report was unacceptable till the reservations of defendants be addressed. He observed that his party leadership would come out clear from the Panama case as the same allegations couldn’t be proved against them during various investigations in the past.
He was of the view that Qatri royal’s statement should be recorded to make the report credible. He demanded that Awami Muslim League Chairman Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad should also be summoned before the court as he was projecting court decisions on TV channels. He maintained that the nation was observing the whole episode that how a family was being targeted.
PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry said prime minister and his family appeared before the controversial Joint Investigation Team to expose its real motives. Criticising opposition, he said no conspiracy could deviate the PML-N leadership from political ideology and development in the country. He said that the political unrest and agitation could harm the conducive environment of economic development and stability.
He mentioned that now, no script and conspiracy could stop the smooth functioning of democratic institution and development. He said that the prime minister and his family presented themselves for accountability according to the democratic norms. He said that the prime minister was not in business since 1985 and had no connection with London flats and offshore companies.
He said that the opposition should compete with the PML-N in election instead of using backdoor channels in order to grab the powers. Talal said that there was another JIT comprising of general public which was more powerful than the existing one and it would bring the PML-N in power time and again by voting in 2018 and 2023 election.
PML-N leader Daniyal Aziz said there were no investigations on Panama Papers issue in the entire world except Pakistan. Out of 450 names of Pakistanis mentioned in the Panama Papers, just only one case was filed against Sharif family, he said. He said it seemed that there had been no proper investigation on the real issue, and demanded that volume X of the report should also be made public.
He said that the Joint Investigation Team should be asked about their findings. “The JIT recording should also be made public as we have the right to know,” he said, adding that JIT had ordered to keep the Volume-X of the report confidential. “What is the reason for JIT to do so,” he asked and said that JIT was not even questioned on why they did not give concluding findings.
He said Imran Khan had become a security risk for the country owning to receiving money from India. An absconder was roaming scot free while the prime minister was being dragged in each and every court without any solid proof, he said. He said that PTI was not ready to answer the allegations leveled against the party in foreign funding case.