If taken to court, I’ll reveal name of Rs10 bn ‘offer maker’: Imran

Says names of relatives of Sharif will also surface in scandal; calls for social boycott of Nawaz; Marriyum says Imran known for telling lies

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, on Friday warned the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that he will tell the name of the person who made the offer of Rs10 billion to him for remaining silent on the Panama issue if called to the court and also hinted that names of relatives of the rulers will also come to surface in this regard.

Speaking to a large public meeting here at the Parade Ground, Imran Khan vowed to disclose the name of the person before the court, but said he would request the court to protect him first, as the Sharifs would attack him and ruin his business. “It is good they are now taking me to the court. The person, who came with the offer, was also assured of Rs2 billion payment, if he managed to convince me to stay silent on the Panama issue,” he noted.

He advised the Sharifs better not to go to court and instead declare on oath, placing hand on the Holy Quran that they had never given bribes to anyone. And, he feared, they could do so and if they did so, from where he would arrange Rs10 billion for defamation. He then himself replied that he would borrow from Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif’s children, who were billionaires and Ishaq Dar’s sons owned assets worth billions.

“I was not willing to name the person, as you are a mafia and you will file false cases and resort to vengeance. Already, there are so many cases against me and the PTI leadership,” Imran retorted. He alleged that for the last 30 years, the Sharifs had been unleashing tyranny in the name of democracy and  of democracy and referred to a trader, whose store in the Liberty Market was closed next day after he joined the PTI.

Imran asked both Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif to be ashamed of themselves for taking him to a court on the issue of bribe, whereas they had given bribes even to their ministers. He alleged that even ex-COAS Asif Nawaz was given BMW as bribe and this was written in the book, authored by his own brother Shuja Nawaz. He continued that Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had said in a TV show that Shahbaz Sharif and Rafique Tarar had sent briefcases for judges in Quetta.

Imran called for social boycott of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a countrywide campaign to force him to step down on the pattern of South Korean corrupt president. He asserted that after the five-member Supreme Court bench had declared him a liar, Nawaz Sharif had lost moral justification to stay as prime minister, vowing to force him to go home.

Some video clips were also played on a huge screen in the background, where Imran was speaking to the public meeting. In one of these, Nawaz Sharif was heard saying that he would not sign any agreement even if they killed him and his love for Pakistan and Pakistanis never allowed him to do so and that he could not cheat his people. The charged gathering, mostly youth, kept chanting slogans against the prime minister and his family. 

Imran charged that Nawaz Sharif continued deceiving the people of Pakistan and lying to them and then a Saudi prince came forward to say that Nawaz had gone to Saudi Arabia under an agreement with the custodian of the two holy mosques and that hopefully he would stick to it. He asked was this the model of being a leader of a nation and insisted that as per Maulana Rumi, a nation would die if it stopped making distinction between the good and the bad.

Then Imran referred to parts of the judgements by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Gulzar Ahmad, who declared the Qatari letters were bogus and had no locus standi and that the London flats belonged to them since 1992-93. Clips of Nawaz Sharif’s children were also played, wherein they expressed complete ignorance towards these flats. He paid tributes to the PTI workers and supporters for coming out on his call against corruption and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the eruption of PanamaLeaks, and added had they not taken to roads the issue would have been brushed aside.

Imran said that a corrupt leader would make all the state institutions corrupt to hide his corruption. “Whereas a public representative has to protect the public money, Mian Sahab, you laundered billions and yet wanted people to forget about it,” he said.

He noted when a prime minister would indulge in corruption and do money laundering, he would hardly care for the people and this was the reason, today there were 25 million children out of school while 45 percent children were undergoing stunted growth while there was no job opportunities for the unemployed youth. Imran pointed out that when the rulers would be corrupt, as were the present ones, the economy would suffer and this would lead to obtaining loans and the lenders would dictate terms and the ultimate sufferers would be the masses. He said today, there was 50 percent tax on diesel and 40 percent on petrol.

The PTI chairman came hard on Nawaz for preferring his business interests and personal relations with Indian PM Modi and others and even not referring to RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav even once, whose 0.7 million forces were resorting to worst type of aggression against the people of Indian Held Kashmir. He vowed to raise the Kashmir issue at every forum. He claimed that it was for the first time that a sitting prime minister would be held for corruption. Imran vowed to carry forward his campaign against corruption.

APP adds: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said Imran Khan was becoming popular for continuously telling lies and making provocative statements.

Commenting on the PTI rally in Islamabad, Marriyum said, "Imran Khan, I congratulate you for addressing once again the empty chairs in dark pitched night illuminated with flood lights to conceal empty seats."

She said that Imran Khan had been restricted or detained at the international airports as he was considered as 'security risk' for other countries. 

The minister urged Imran Khan to reveal the name of person who, according to his claim, offered Rs10 billion for keeping mum on the Panama issue. She said the PTI chief did not get tired of telling lies before the court for the last four months, adding that today once again he was repeating the same lies before public.

"But now people do not come to listen to your lies and cries," she remarked. The minister said that empty chairs were waiting for the "important announcement" from Imran Khan. Marriyum said that constructing metro and bridges was not Imran's fate because "God does not help those who tell lies." 

She urged TV channels to show aerial view of Imran's rally so that he could come out from illusion. "Imran Khan Sahib, why don't you have any appealing words in your speech today. You are looking sick. Don't worry, shocks come in the life," she remarked.

"I feel ashamed to say shameless, but there is no substitute of this for you," she maintained. The minister challenged Imran to speak lies in the daylight, adding, "but thieves and liars do their work at night."

Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique termed Sheikh Rashid as a bad omen for PTI chief Imran Khan. In a statement, he said Sheikh Rashid had proved himself a bad omen first for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif then Pervez Musharraf and now it was Imran's turn. He said Sheikh Rashid was an ill-reputed politician who was damaging the politics of Pakistan. Saad said PTI chief Imran Khan was making people fool on the name of change.