LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central information secretary Fawad Chaudhry has alleged that disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif had been using his party’s account for money laundering.

Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, Chaudhry said the PML-N established Limited Liability Company (LLC) in London, which transferred millions of rupees to the party in Pakistan. The money was used in elections as well as other publicity campaigns, he said and added that the PML-N had recently spent some Rs3.5 billion on publicity campaigns, but the party accounts record, as submitted in the Election Commission of Pakistan, showed there were only few thousand rupees.

Only the PML-N’s Sindh chapter had some Rs5 million in its accounts. “The PTI has filed a petition to seek details of the PML-N’s foreign funding,” he said.

Referring to the PML-N candidates for the March 3 Senate elections, Chaudhry said Zubair Gull was wanted in a murder case but he had escaped to London after a case was registered against him. Besides, Pakistani police, he said, Gull was also wanted by the London police.

Similarly, he said, PML-N candidate Capt Khalid Shaheen Butt was also convicted in the US. “Being money-launderer is the basic qualification of a top leader in the PML-N,” he commented.

The PTI information secretary rapped Nawaz Sharif’s tirade against the state institutions and added the time had come that either he (Nawaz) should answer questions in the Supreme Court or get ready to go to Adiala Jail.

He reiterated that Nawaz Sharif was accused of laundering around Rs300 billion abroad. Mr Chaudhry said the prime minister and interior minister had helped former finance minister to escape from the country.

He asked who would be responsible if Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam escaped from the country despite NAB orders regarding putting their names on the ECL.

Mr Chaudhry congratulated Imran Khan on his marriage.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2018