ISLAMABAD: During their speeches in frequent public meetings, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan are making direct or indirect allegations against each other but not answering some basic questions about themselves.
Following are the questions which the prime minister has to answer regarding the allegations of offshore companies and the London flats owned by his family.
1. As to why he is neither responding to nor denying the questions about setting up offshore companies in early 1990s by the Sharif family members? He starts explaining his family business history instead of answering precise and focused questions about establishing Nielson Holdings Limited and Nescoll in 1993 and 1994 respectively in British Virgin Island (BVI).
2. Whether the Avenfield House flats, where he also addressed a press conference on Sunday, were purchased by Nielson and Nescoll in the years 1993 to 1996?
3. If the money earned from selling steel mills ‘Gulf Steel’ in Dubai in 1980 ($9 million) was used to purchase these Mayfair flats, how the money was transferred to London and where this money remained parked for more than 17 years – from 1980 to 1993 and until 1996? According to the UK government’s official documents, four Avenfield House flats – 16, 16A, 17, 17A – were purchased from 1993 to 1996 by Nielson and Nescoll and these BVI offshore companies still own them. Also is there any documentary proof that can be shared that the Dubai factory was really sold at $9 million in 1980?
4. Was the Gulf Steel set up in Dubai ever declared in income tax returns and wealth statements of the Sharif family members?
5. Was the amount earned after selling the Dubai factory in 1980 was declared in income tax returns of the Sharif family members at any point of time?
6. Why Sharif family didn’t brought this money to Pakistan despite the fact it was very close to the military rulers in 1980s and Nawaz had become Punjab’s finance minister in 1981? The prime minister usually argues that he and his family were compelled to invest abroad because of the adverse actions of the governments against their business group. However, not only the factories and properties nationalised by the state in early 1970s were returned to his family by 1980, but the Ziaul Haq regime was also friendly towards them and the Sharif family also came into power. The Sharif family ruled Punjab throughout the 1980s. Not bringing the money after selling the Dubai factory in 1980 despite being in power is a real question the prime minister and his family will have to answer.
7. How much money was left after purchasing four luxurious Mayfair flats by 1996 from the amount earned through selling the Dubai steel mills in 1980?
8. If the same money was used to set up a steel mill in Jeddah after the year 2000, how the money was transferred to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and whether it was transferred from UAE to KSA or from UK to KSA?
9. Is it true that THE Sharif family has taken a financial facility from BCCI Bank in Gulf and also defaulted this loan? Is it true that same loan was written-off? Why it is silent over this question? There are some PML-N leaders who tried to imply that whatever happened in Dubai has nothing to do with Pakistan but a political leader is supposed to be clean and answer each and every question to prove transparency of his financial matters. It is believed worldwide that the one who is not transparent in his personal financial matters could not act transparently while handling financial matters of the state.
10. Why the prime minister and his family members repeatedly refer to the selling of a factory in KSA and transfer of money through proper banking channels from KSA to UK whereas same is not at all relevant. The questions are about transactions made in early 1990s, offshore companies set up in 1993 and 1994 and the flats purchased in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 and not about anything that happened in mid 2000s. The abovementioned London flats were used as collateral to secure a financial facility from Al-Tawfiq Investment Fund under an agreement signed on February 15, 1995 in London. The loan was acquired for Hudaibiya Paper Mills which is owned by the Sharif family. The flats were in the names of Nielson and Nescoll, not in the Sharif family members, and thus documentary evidence establish these offshore companies were owned by the family.
11. Why the offshore companies were never declared in income tax statements of the Sharif family members in 1990s and afterwards?
12. The prime minister’s family members, including his son Hussain Nawaz, admit owning these offshore companies now. Will the prime minister volunteer to present financial details and annual statements of accounts of all the offshore companies owned by his family members starting from 1993 to date before media and parliamentary committee prior to setting up any commission?
Following are the questions which Imran has to answer regarding the allegations against him and his family.
1. Why Imran hasn’t declared his offshore company ‘Niazi Services Limited’ for 33 years despite the fact he himself admitted that it remained involved in transactions and financial matters other than merely owning a London flat?
2. Why he is not providing annual financial statements and the statement of the offshore company’s accounts from 1983 to 2015, despite the promise made by PTI chief’s spokesperson Naeemul Haq on May 13, 2016 during the programme ‘Naya Pakistan’ hosted by senior anchorperson Talat Hussain before whole nation?
Naeem has stated that as Imran’s all financial matters are transparent and the details of the company’s account will be provided to The News. However, the PTI chief is not providing the same despite 37 reminders though Naeem later promised on four more occasions but then suddenly disappeared.
The PTI chief can come clean by presenting annual statements of accounts of Niazi Services Limited. His party leaders are frequently making a political statement “Imran Khan has presented all details before media”, but no detail of offshore company is in fact presented and the sale deeds shown by him were already reported by The News.
3. Doesn’t non-declaration of offshore company prove that Imran was hiding his offshore wealth from the Pakistani nation which he started making in 1983?
4. Why Imran tried to hide his offshore company even on the night of filing the story on May 12, 2016 when The News remained in contact for his version on offshore company for several hours and the offshore company was denied in categorical terms?
5. Why Imran made misleading statement that if he hasn’t declared his offshore company, he has declared flat owned by the company. Whereas official tax record shows he hasn’t declared his flat in his wealth statements from 1998 to 2000 though he started filing wealth statements from 1989. While submitting wealth statement, declaring ‘world assets’ was a must condition and not declaring any foreign property was concealment of facts from tax authorities. As to why Imran Khan tried to dodge the question of ‘not declaring offshore company’ by stating that he was declaring the flat owned by the offshore company, if not the company itself? Now, he has even admitted that he hasn’t declared flat until 2001.
6. Being a strong opponent of tax amnesty schemes and terming them as a tool to whitening of black money which only benefit the corrupt, why Imran declared his flat only in tax returns of 2001 under the Tax Amnesty Scheme 2000 (2001)? Wasn’t it clear contradiction of the stance he was presenting before the people of Pakistan?
7. How much Imran earned from the county cricket and other sources in UK and Australia in 1970s and early 1980s through which he has bought the luxurious London flat? He has already stated that he hasn’t taken any money from Pakistan to London and instead transferred money from London to Pakistan. He bought the London flat for 110,000 pounds but the income from county cricket and some other sources for the cricketers in 1970s and 1980s do not match with this amount, provided he hadn’t taken any money from Pakistan to UK. His declared income in Pakistan was Rs36,634 for the year 1981-82, Rs35,104 for the year 1982-83 and Rs97,334 for the year 1983-84.
8. Whether Imran’s income from county cricket and other sources in 1980s or afterwards was transferred to bank accounts associated with Niazi Services Limited or any other offshore company?
9. The PTI chief repeatedly stated that he brought money to Pakistan after selling his London flat in 2003 for 715,000 pounds. Will he disclose the exact amount he transferred to Pakistan in 2003 after selling the flat along with dates of remittances? Some details of remittances are also attached with his income tax returns of the corresponding year which do not match with the statements he is making publicly.
10. Imran’s basic plea for hiding his offshore company from tax authorities was that he declared the flat owned by the company. However, he hasn’t declared even the flat for 17 years and only declared it under Gen Musharraf’s scheme for whitening black money in the year 2000. As to why Imran is not answering the basic question that if the offshore company ‘Niazi Services Limited’ was meant for the flat, why he continued to submit its annual returns and it continued to exist till October 2015, while the flat was sold out in 2003? Why the offshore company was kept functional for 12 years after selling the flat and closed merely five months before the Panama Papers surfaced?
