Comment
ISLAMABAD: From condemning the offshore companies of Prime Minister’s scions to defending his own offshore company, a “Change” in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has come within a week. Until a week ago, Imran Khan was lecturing the media about the delinquent purposes and functions of the offshore companies, but after his own company-- Niazi Services Limited--surfaced, he was seen explaining the difference between a “Halal” offshore company and a “Haraam” one.
Before surfacing of the Niazi Services Limited, Imran khan had given a statement that the only reason people open offshore accounts through Panama is to either hide wealth, especially ill-gotten wealth, or to evade tax or both.
He had openly asked his followers to check his assets, saying all the assets were in his name. “PTI voters/workers can ask me about my assets which are on ECP/NA & PTI websites--all in my name and in Pakistan,” Imran said.
The PTI chief was perhaps the most vocal voice against the Sharifs on Panama Papers. When the name of his party leader Aleem Khan also figured in Panama Papers, he appreciated him for declaring his offshore companies and flats. Regarding Jahangir Tareen’s children’s offshore companies too, Imran was seen hitting the prime minister hard in his statements regarding offshore companies of the PM’s children.
However, a sudden change has come in Imran Khan’s statements after The News broke the story of his offshore company. Khan is now seen waving documents claiming that he had declared the London flat and that he sold it in 2003. However, one thing that Khan is hiding from the public, for the reasons best known to him, is whether at any stage in his life he has ever declared that he owned offshore company Niazi Services Limited or kept it benaami until 2015.
Importantly, of all the Pakistanis, who own offshore companies, Imran Khan’s company is the oldest one and has remained active since 1983 to 2015. The transformation in Khan’s statements has suddenly emerged as neither his followers nor the government could believe that the most vocal voice against the offshore companies himself owned such a company that too keeping it benaami.
Khan has admitted that he had established the Niazi Services Limited because it was his right not to pay capital gain tax being a non-UK citizen. He also claims that he had declared his London flat, but, actually, the flat was owned by an offshore company which Khan never disclosed until The News broke the story. Now, after losing the bite in his words regarding ‘bad‘ offshore companies of Sharif family, Imran spends more of his time on media defending his ‘good’ offshore company.
On Monday too, when the opposition leader and Aitzaz Ahsan were seen criticising the PM, the otherwise fuming Imran Khan was busy defending his company and telling media persons that he had purchased the flat from the money earned from county cricket and sold it in 2003. Some questions are yet to be answered by Khan that why didn’t he declare Niazi Services Company and if the company was active till 2015, what sort of businesses were dealt by the company that it remained active 12 years after the flat owned by it was sold?