ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) and allied parties are ramping up the pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and are pursuing various means to have him disqualified from the National Assembly for allegedly concealing his assets in the wake of the Panama Papers leaks.

PTI chairman Imran Khan, talking to reporters on Tuesday, announced his party’s plan to move the Supreme Court against the prime minister. He claimed there was enough evidence available in the form of registries of properties owned by the Sharif family in London, in addition to their own admissions.

The PTI chief claimed that according to documentary evidence, the prime minister was the direct beneficiary of an offshore company, Shamrock. Similarly, as per a ruling by a London court, the PM’s family are named as the owners of multiple properties in London.

Mr Khan also claimed to have proof of money laundering, allegedly committed on behalf of the prime minister and his family.

“[On the basis of] all this evidence, the party leadership has decided to seek the disqualification of the prime minister from the apex court,” the PTI chairman told reporters at his residence in Bani Gala.

Mr Khan’s announcement came just a day after PTI parliamentarians submitted a reference against the prime minister to NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

Also on Tuesday, PTI ally and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed approached Mr Sadiq to hand him his own reference against PM Sharif, seeking his unseating under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Talking to media persons outside Parliament House, the AML chief said he had provided enough evidence to speaker and hoped he would take action against the prime minister within the stipulated 30 days.

At the same time, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has also declared to file a petition against the prime minister with the Supreme Court.

Confirming the decision, JI central media coordinator Shahid Shamsi told Dawn: “Instead of creating an unnecessary mess, the party leadership has decided to get the top court’s ruling on the issue of the PM’s alleged ownership of properties abroad and not declaring them before the Election Commission of Pakistan.” The JI is expected to file its petition on Aug 22.

PTI rallies

During his press talk, Mr Khan also announced plans to hold his party’s next weekend rally in Gujrat and the one after that in Jhelum. On Sept 3, he said, the party leadership had decided to hold a rally from Gujranwala to Lahore. “The party will invite people from all over the country to join hands to end corruption from the country,” he said of the Sept 3 rally.

Asked whether he had chosen the wrong time for his protest movement, Mr Khan said he understood that the weather was severe, but insisted that the issue of corruption was so critical that “we cannot sit idle just because it’s hot out there”.

Asked about his recent statement where he had alleged that PM Sharif had asked the army chief to take an extension or become field marshal, the PTI chief said: “I cannot disclose my source, but yes, someone from the PML-N told me that the government had made an offer to the army chief.”

He claimed Nawaz Sharif had a habit of influencing people through every possible means, recalling how he had once gifted a BMW car to then-army chief General Asif Janjua, which the latter had refused to accept. “There are proven incidents of [the Sharif brothers] bribing judges, journalists and politicians and they continue to do so to remain in power,” the PTI leader said.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2016