PM speaks of third attack as Imran prepares for ‘celebrations’

Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s assertion that the present campaign against him was the third “attack” on his government came amid credible reports that his leading political rival was bracing up for another protest, “celebration”, in the federal capital after the Supreme Court judgment in the Panama case.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has announced that his followers were very eager and enthusiastic to come to the capital for “celebrations” after his vindication at the apex court or demand his resignation if the judgment did not come up to his expectations.

“Dharna one and dharna two earlier were sponsored and now the third attack is going on,” the premier said in Sialkot. “Drama and ‘meena bazaar’ is in full swing; and all the elements, rejected by people, are demanding my resignation. The nation knows why the present theatre is on; and who has staged it.”

Nawaz Sharif’s claim that there was not a single stain of corruption on his current four-year rule also impliedly echoed during the arguments of his lead lawyer Khawaja Haris, who dissected the JIT findings, before the three-member special implementation bench on Wednesday.

He stressed that the JIT did not level any allegations of corruption against the premier and no documents were procured by it to prove his ownership of the London flats. “No document has been submitted to show that the prime minister is the real owner. The connection between Nawaz Sharif and the London apartments is based on speculation. There are no documents available to prove this.”

The JIT concluded that Nawaz Sharif was the “most likely” owner of London flats and employed his children and two British Virgin Island (BVI) offshore companies -- Nielson and Nescoll -- to conceal his “true” ultimate beneficial ownership of these properties. The team also claimed that there wasn’t any trust deed, signed by Maryam, associated with these offshore companies and she was the beneficial owner. 

Only one prominent newspaper reported on Tuesday that the special bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal asked Khawaja Haris “pointblank whether the judges should form their own opinion over the concealment of facts by his client or refer the matter to an accountability court.” The reply of the lawyer did not figure in the item.

However, on Wednesday Khawaja Haris argued that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could not proceed with an investigation against his client and the JIT report did not say that Nawaz Sharif misused his power to earn money.

He also propounded that under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 an individual cannot be held accountable for the properties and assets that are in the name of his wife and children; and that the premier’s relatives have also not concealed any assets.

Regarding the JIT report’s comment that Nawaz Sharif remained evasive while answering the questions put forward by it, Harris responded that the team had not inquired about any other properties, and his client had not hidden any assets, nor did he own any “benami” properties. The prime minister had presented details of all of his assets and sources of income in the form of tax returns to the JIT.

What Khawaja Haris stated now was reported by this newspaper a week back. It was said that although the JIT tried to indict each and every member of the premier’s family in its report, including his political heir Maryam, his wife, two sons and another daughter, the investigators failed to bring single evidence to show that the Sharifs established their businesses by looting the public funds.

The JIT report focused on many transactions, businesses, deals and asset statements which purely belong to the Sharif family but could not even hint at any corruption in the public exchequer, and held that it were Sharifs’ family businesses.

All what the JIT tried to establish was that there were irregularities and inconsistencies between the magnitude of the businesses and the financial health of the Sharif family but not on a single occasion did it refer to any commissions, kickbacks and bribe taken by the ruling family, award of contracts to favourites to extract public funds, or any other corrupt practices. In actual, the JIT conducted scrutiny of private businesses of the Sharifs established since 1962 till date and documented irregularities, non-following of proper documentation  and being unable to provide proper money trails of their businesses.

“Tell us in which project did we mint money?” the prime minister asked. “The sole objective of the present and previous campaigns is to target me. But these people should know that they will be again rejected by the electorate in the next general elections and they will keep repenting.”

He also asked what kind of accountability of his family was being conducted for the last forty-four years and those who pushed Pakistan in darkness are not being made accountable.

At one point, the JIT only made a passing reference that most of the companies owned by the Sharif family were incorporated in 1980s and 1990s when Nawaz Sharif was holding public office, but there is not the slightest hint of corrupt practices or money obtained through corruption to establish these businesses. The JIT dug out irregularities in the record of the Sharif family business but failed to bring a single document to establish that they gathered this wealth by plundering the public kitty.