PML-N lashes out at PM, ministers for refusing to accept London court’s verdict

Calling Prime Minister Imran Khan, his aide Shahzad Akbar and federal ministers ‘liars’, former prime minister and senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Tuesday that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government had been blinded by its desire to take revenge on its opponents, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a press conference along with other PML-N leaders, he said it was a ‘pity’ that these people were suppressing the opposition by telling ‘lies’ to the nation.

“The government is not bothered about the country’s prestige and honour. When UK’s investigation agency has said that no proof of money laundering has been found against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, then what is the logic behind pursuing cases against him in Pakistan?” he asked.

Abbasi taunted the ministers that they would boast of providing irrefutable evidence of Shehbaz’s corruption to the UK government.

The former prime minister said that the UK’s National Crime Agency’s (NCA) mode of investigation is very strict.

“For 20 months it probed the allegations against the PML-N president only to give him a ‘clean chit’ in the end. It even froze his bank accounts in the process; checked whether assets were made from the money stashed in these accounts. Investigations were done beyond UK borders; in UAE and Pakistan,” he said, and added, “There are reports that NAB, Lahore DG would visit London to meet with the UK’s investigation agency officials. There are proofs that even the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials had met with the agency officials.”  

Abbasi said that Shehbaz’s as well as his son Suleman Shehbaz’s accounts were ‘declared’.

He said it was unfortunate that the very government which had provided 'false information’ to the UK’s investigation agency was now taking on the national media for airing ‘fake news’.

“If NAB Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal has an iota of shame left in him, he should admit his mistake,” he said. 

Speaking on the occasion, another senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal asked PM Imran to go and see a psychiatrist. “The present government has failed to prove a single allegation of corruption against the former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif during the last four years it has been in office,” he said, and added, “Similarly, not a single penny of corruption could be proved against Shehbaz Sharif who remained the Punjab CM for 10 years.”

Ahsan said that the PTI government had done nothing but levelling baseless allegations against the PML-N. “People here in Pakistan can buy these ‘false’ claims, but they have no value in the eyes of international investigative agencies,” he said.

Referring to the statement by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said he had said he was not sure about other cases filed against Shehbaz; but as far as the case of money laundering was concerned PML-N president’s conviction was writing on the wall. “Now here lies the truth of Rasheed’s tall claims,” he ridiculed.