LAHORE: Punjab government Spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said Wednesday that as usual the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan is hiding himself behind false excuses after levelling false allegations against Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif.
The spokesman said that his party had asked Imran Khan to go to court and give an explanation for levelling baseless allegations against Shehbaz. “He is not appearing before the court since the past four months, due to which he has not proved his allegation that Shehbaz Sharif had offered him Rs 10 billion for withdrawing from the Panama Papers case,” he added.
Malik Ahmad said that CM Shehbaz had sought clarification from Imran Khan before filling a defamation case, but the latter failed to provide any evidence to prove his allegations. After serving a legal notice to Khan, a defamation suit had also been filed in the civil court, he added.
Imran Khan was bound to submit a reply before the honourable court within 30 days but he had been using delaying tactics on one pretext or another, he said. Till date his advocate had sought adjournment of proceedings for the sixth time, he added.
The spokesman reminded that Imran Khan had been served with various court notices, saying that the provincial government was now using the media to demand Khan to reply to his baseless allegation against the Punjab chief minister.
He was of the view that Imran Khan was the champion of “politics of sit-ins” and pioneer of creating panic in a peaceful political environment. Shehbaz Sharif had already presented himself for accountability, but on the other hand, Imran Khan was making it a habit to tell lies only, he added.
The spokesman further said that record of 56 Punjab government companies had been submitted to the Auditor General of Pakistan for audit. These companies were established for better delivery of services in the province and were working according to rules.
Replying to a query, he said that NAB had the legal right to start investigations against any major financial transaction, but it did not mean that any irregularity was proved in the case of the above-mentioned companies.
He further said that the chief minister had always encouraged transparency in all government departments, including public sector companies, adding that no irregularity would be tolerated in this regard.
