LAHORE: National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has termed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’s allegation that the Nawaz government offered him Rs10bn to remain silent on Panama Papers case a joke.

“An amount of Rs10bn is a huge money and it is very easy for any one to make such a claim without proof. The allegation is nothing but a joke,” Mr Sadiq said while talking to reporters here on Wednesday.

The PML-N has asked Mr Khan to disclose the name of the person who had made the offer on behalf of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sana urges CJ to take suo motu

The speaker said if the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) cleared the premier of all charges, Imran Khan might not accept the body as well.

Referring to the Panama case verdict, he said the PTI was doing politics on dissenting note, while the majority judges’ decision was final. He predicted that the PML-N would not only form government in the Centre but also in the provinces after 2018 election.

The speaker further said he returned after a visit to Iran that had expressed its desire to become part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “Iran wants Pakistan to play its role in uniting the Muslim world,” he added.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Wednesday asked the chief justice of Pakistan to take a suo motu notice of Imran Khan’s allegation that he was offered Rs10 billion for keeping quiet.

Mr Khan should also reveal as to who had offered him the money, he said while talking to media persons outside the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday.

An inquiry should be conducted into Imran Khan’s latest allegation, he said. He said Imran Khan and Asif Zardari were competing with each other in slinging mud on the PML-N leadership and deciding who among them was the real opposition leader.

The PTI was holding a public meeting in Islamabad merely to pressure the JIT which is to be formed to conduct a probe into the Panama scandal under directions from the Supreme Court.

He said 10,000MW of power would be included in the national grid system in May to overcome loadshedding.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2017