ABBOTTABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said that Joint Investigation Team will unearth corruption of billions of rupees in the Panama Papers scandal.

Addressing a public meeting here on Sunday, he said that it was appropriate time for the nation to get rid of the ‘corrupt’ prime minister. He said that the prime minister himself admitted that corruption was on its peak in the country.

Mr Khan said that on the directive of IMF, the government was planning to impose taxes of Rs40 billion on the poor people of the country. The ultimate burden would be put on the countrymen, who were paying the cost of the corruption rulers.

Awmi Muslim League president Sheikh Rashid and PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Tareen, Naeemul Haq and Zar Gul Khan also addressed the meeting.

PTI chief says it is appropriate time for nation to get rid of ‘corrupt’ PM

PTI workers form Haripur, Havelian, Mansehra, Torghar, Kohistan, Battagram, Galiyat and Abbottabad attended the public meeting at the football ground of Government Postgraduate College No.1 Abbottabad.

The PTI chief said that political awareness and maturity enabled people to realise that they had been looted and deceived by the corrupt rulers. He said that rulers always betrayed the mandate of people. He claimed that rulers took away 10 billion dollars every year from the country as it was reported by the state department of the USA.

Mr Khan said that a fraud of Rs62 billion was detected in payment to IPP in 2013. He said that if the matter was probed thoroughly, it would show that about Rs120 billion was misappropriated.

The PTI chief alleged that National Bank of Pakistan president Saeed Ahmed was involved in money laundering as admitted by Ishaq Dar before a court. He said that The last place of corrupt rulers was jail. He added that PTI would put all thieves behind bars and recover the looted money from them.

Mr Khan said that prime minister tried to misguide the court in Panama Papers case through the letter of prince of Qatar. He added that prime minister himself said that no one kept looted money in his own name.

The PTI chief paid rich tributes to Kashmiri people for their struggle and said that they had been facing the atrocities of Indian army for the last 26 years. He said that Kashmiri people felt that they had to get independence from the Indian occupation. He assured them of his support.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Rashid said that nation realised that prime minister should step down. “Pakistan and Mian Sahib (prime minister) cannot go together. Nawaz Sharif has to go by all means as nation is not going to allow him to plunder and loot their wealth anymore,” he added.

Mr Rashid said that he was predicting that either funeral of “Noon” (PML-N) or “Qanoon” (law) would be held in the country. He said that political suicide of PML-N was writing on the wall.

He said that at least 60 Pakistanis were languishing in Indian jails for false charges of spying.

Jahangir Khan Tareen said on the occasion that Nawaz Sharif lost moral ground to remain in power. He should have gone home when he and his family were named in the Panama Papers scandal. He claimed that PTI would emerge as a major party in the upcoming general elections.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that it was unfortunate that all political forces joined hands against PTI as they feared that the party would end their era of corruption if it came into power. He said that journey of “change” that started from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would reach the entire country.

Mr Qureshi said that people would not give another chance to those people, who plundered national wealth. “Their politics of corruption will be buried once for all,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2017