Present documents to support claim; say fake audit reports were prepared to hide embezzlement; Pervaiz alleges massive kickbacks in sale, purchase of trees in KP
ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders on Wednesday alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had invested donations worth millions of dollars of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in offshore companies and fake audit reports were also prepared to hide this.
Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid, State Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Zubair, Minister for CADD Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and MNA Danyal Aziz came up with documents during a media conference here regarding Imran’s investments abroad, including Jalalabad in Afghanistan, Oman and Dubai.
It was revealed that the HBG Holdings company was set up in Dubai by Imran and Imtiaz Hyderi and details of it were also available on the Bloomberg website.They charged that Imran was involved in losing the money of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital donors in foreign investment and even an Indian, Jaswant Desai, was part of his offshore company. They said investment was also made in the oil and gas business and the Indians were also part of it.
The information minister said that they were keeping a record of the white lies of Imran and would hold him accountable in the 2018 general elections and knock him out and inflict a massive electoral defeat on his party. He asserted that not a single word was against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his two sons and Mariam Nawaz in the PanamaLeaks. He added that when allegations would be levelled against the prime minister, they would respond to such lies.
Pervaiz Rashid noted that there was only information in the PanamaLeaks about the offshore companies owned by the prime minister’s sons regarding which they had been already talking in media interviews.
The minister said that Imran did not have enough moral courage to let the PTI’s chief election commissioner to conduct the intra-party election in a transparent manner, who was forced to resign. He alleged that there were massive kickbacks in the sale and purchase of trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The board of directors had approved funds meant for the Shaukat Khanum Hospital which were invested in real estate business too and their own audit report showed they had lost around $18 million,” Danyal Aziz alleged.
He claimed that Imran and others, including Imtiaz Hydri and Jaswant Desai, made money from foreign investment with the money that was donated to Imran’s welfare hospital. “The HBG Holdings company is behind all these investments,” Danyal said and added that BoDs of the hospital was involved in huge embezzlement. He said they were prepared to appear before the inquiry commission on the PanamaLeaks, and asked Imran to also do so.
He pointed out that when no way out was found to cover up the 18 million dollars losses, fake reports were prepared and even Imran announced last year to sell his Bani Gala property to make up for the losses but to-date, he had not done that.
Replying to a question, the minister said that he did not foresee any threat to the PML-N government, not only till 2018 but even beyond that. He claimed the bluff and lies by Imran were exposed through the findings of the judicial commission with regard to rigging in the 2013 elections.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry charged that some political parties survived only on the basis of airing allegations against others. He added the allegations against the Sharif family were never produced or proven in any court.
Muhammad Zubair wanted the media to investigate the fake documents circulated by Imran. He noted that Imran always talked about taxes and tax returns of opponents but he only started filing tax returns in 2002 to qualify for contesting the general elections.