Pervaiz Elahi Pakistan’s first judicial CM, says Hamza

LONDON: The former chief minister of Punjab Hamza Shahbaz has said that former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has been caught as a thief who has plundered money for personal and political purposes after raising it in the name of charity.

Speaking to media after meeting Nawaz Sharif here for three hours on Saturday, Hamza Shahbaz said that Imran Khan used to call others “thieves” and “looters” but it has turned out that he is one the biggest money-launderers and crooks in the history of Pakistan and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has stamped on Imran Khan’s financial corruption.

Hamza Shahbaz travelled to London three days ago and met Nawaz Sharif at the latter’s office opposite Hyde Park Corner. They met each other after four years. Hamza Sharif said that the Pakistani nation today is asking Imran Khan to answer questions on how he used his office boys, cooks and servants to receive funds from abroad and sign for these.

The PDM is fully determined to take the foreign funding case to its logical end. Imran committed the biggest fraud with the nation of Pakistan which is established in the foreign funding case verdict where foreign funding and financial corruption is proven, he said. When asked about Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan, Hamza Shahbaz said “I am sure that Nawaz Sharif will lead the election campaign which will be held in 2023.”

Hamza Shahbaz said that he was ousted as Punjab chief minister after an attempt was made by the Supreme Court judges to rewrite the constitution for political expediency. He termed it one of the bleakest chapters of judicial history of Pakistan.

Hamza called Punjab’s current Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi a “judicial chief minister” who was imposed on Punjab by the judiciary. He said: “I had heard about the caretaker chief minister and the people’s chief minister but I had never heard about the judicial chief minister. This is for the first time that Pakistan has a judicial chief minister. The constitution says the votes will be counted but through a dark verdict an attempt was made to rewrite the constitution. We will exercise our right of going to the court to file a review petition for a full court. We will not let it pass just like that. We have hopes of justice from the court but if justice is not seen to be done then we will raise our voice for justice to the maximum.” Hamza said that his uncle and former PM Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for not taking salary from his son. Hamza said: “In the case of Imran Khan the evidence is overwhelming that he violated Pakistan’s laws and made a mockery of the system to make money through corrupt means. He is head to toe trapped in the foreign funding case. This case will be taken to the logical conclusion. Our family and party colleagues have been a victim of revenge; we have faced jails and faced the worst kind of revenge. I spent time in jail when I was a student and I spent two years in jail under Imran Khan’s government. We will only go for the legal means and there will be no political persecution. We will do everything within the legal means.”

Hamza remained the chief minister of the biggest province of Pakistan for 87 days. After former Punjab CM Usman Buzdar resigned, Hamza Shahbaz was elected with 197 votes on April 16. However, his election was challenged in court. After the Lahore High Court annulled the election of the CM, the Supreme Court fixed July 22 as the re-election. This time around, Hamza won with 179 votes after the deputy speaker disregarded the PML-Q’s ten votes. On July 26, after a brief hearing of the PTI plea, the apex court declared the July 22 election null and void and Pervaiz Elahi as the CM-elect.