If charges are proved, Nawaz will go to jail not home: Imran

Addresses rally at The Mall; says only dictators can’t be made answerable; 200 others will also be held accountable only after Nawaz’s accountability; tells PM 2018 is still far away; opposition parties meet today to discuss Panama commission ToRs; next PTI rally in Faisalabad next Sunday

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cannot escape the accountability process, and he will have to go to jail, not home, for his corruption if allegations are proven against him.

“How can a country prosper under a corrupt head? Nawaz Sharif has lost the moral grounds to remain in office. “Mr Prime Minister! You will have to answer for your deeds and you will not go home, but go to jail if charges are proven… 2018 is still far away,” said the PTI chief while addressing a big rally at Charing Cross, on the Mall Road, here on Sunday.

The PTI chief said only dictators could not be held accountable, but Pakistan is a democratic country and the PM would have to give the answers for his wrongdoings. Imran addressed the gathering for over an hour in which he also urged his party workers to get ready for a march on Raiwind as a call in this regard could be given at any time.

Senior PTI leaders including Jehangir Khan Tareen, MNA Shafqat Mehmood, former governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Abdul Aleem Khan and others were also present on the occasion.

The PTI chairman said Western countries had made remarkable progress and all 55 Islamic nations could not even match the wealth of Britain, just because they were not following the principles of justice, as practiced by the greatcaliphs of Islam like Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA), Hazrat Umar (RA) and Hazrat Ali (RA).

Imran said our Islamic leaders in the past implemented religion in letter and spirit, established a transparent system of justice and accountability due to which the Muslims ruled Europe and other nations for hundreds of years.

He said once Hazrat Umar (RA) was questioned over his clothing and he answered the question instead of getting angry at that person. Citing the example of Hazrat Ali (RA), Imran said as a caliph, he appeared before the qazi and a judgment was given against him as the court refused to accept the witness of his son. But he didn’t reject the decision.

He said if such pious figures could present themselves for accountability, why was the incumbent prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan escaping the process. Imran said when the PTI raised the issue of the Panama leaks, rather than clarifying his position, the stooges of Nawaz Sharif started pointing their fingers at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

The PTI chairman said those tactics could not save the prime minister from the accountability process and unless he presented himself before the commission, headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the nation would keep asking him about the wealth he had accumulated abroad.

Imran said David Cameron, the British prime minister, could not escape the wrath of his nation over the issue of not paying his due tax and he had to clarify his position before parliament. He also stated that US President Richard Nixon had to resign over the allegation of tapping the phones of his opponents, which in Pakistan, under the incumbent government, had been a regular practice. He said Bill Clinton, a president of the USA, under whom the country made great progress, had to present himself for accountability in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. On the other hand, Imran added, when the Panama leaks came to the surface, the attitude and behaviour of the Pakistani prime minister was astonishing for all.

Imran said before coming to power, the Sharifs were running the Ittefaq Foundry and within the first 12 years in power, they had set up 30 factories. He said the Sharifs had received loans from different banks while in office and later on got those waived with the help of their own officials.

Imran said the country had plunged into further poverty but the assets of the Sharif family continued to rise and they were still sticking to power. “Mian Sahib, aren’t you afraid of Allah that you have to answer for your deeds one day,” asked Imran.

He said when the head of a state gets corrupt, the entire society was bound to get corrupt and it was necessary to have a ruler with clean hands. The rulers must ‘lead by example’ but here, the son of our prime minister is issuing a statement and other members of his family are stating something else. He said the PM must have moral grounds to remain in office but he was still sticking to power. Imran also said the opposition parties would meet on Monday (today) to discuss the terms of reference (ToRs) for the commission to probe the Panama leaks and the Nawaz family.

The PTI chairman asserted that even if he was left alone, he would continue his struggle against the corruption of the rulers. Imran, during his speech, also slammed the ‘stooges’ of prime minister including Federal Minister Khwaja Asif while saying that the MNA from Sialkot acted like Maula Jatt in the National Assembly but his real face was seen in a TV show where he was sitting timidly beside a general like a ‘rat’.

Without naming Daniyal Aziz, Imran said another MNA of the PML-N, who, while being a part of Musharraf regime, stated that Nawaz Sharif had done corruption of millions of rupees, was now going an extra mile to protect him.

Imran expressed complete solidarity with labourers and workers in connection with the Labour Day and stated that the PTI, after coming to power, would empower them and give them their due rights. He also stated the PTI would not privatise national institutions but improve their performance. 

Agencies add: The PTI chairman lamented that 2.5 lakh children die due to drinking dirty water while 2.5 crore children do not go to school in Pakistan. “I want to ask Mian Sahib if any nation had progressed without educating its children.”

“Why is the government spending so much on making the Orange Train instead of educating 2.5 crore children,” Imran asked. He said the country’s debt was rising because the government had failed to collect taxes as the biggest evaders were sitting on the top.

The PTI chairman announced holding his next rally in Faisalabad next Sunday. Imran said he would stand by farmers and he would also launch a campaign in the villages. “I will mobilise farmers to help them get their rights,” he said.

He said accountability needs to be done of the PM first and then of the 200 others named in the Panama leaks. He said Rs11 billion were spent on the construction of the Raiwind estate, adding that the six camp offices of the Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif were being operated on the taxes paid by the people. He said that 2,700 policemen are deployed at Jati Umra for the security of the Sharif family. He said the Pakistan Muslim League-N workers would also have to answer to God for supporting the corrupt rulers.