Sharif clan: Report is trash
Pakistan ruling party also rejects claims PM is living beyond his means
Islamabad: Pakistan’s governing party has rejected as “trash” a corruption report accusing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of living beyond his means, the latest in long-running allegations which sparked fresh calls for him to resign.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of civilian and military investigators issued its report on Monday claiming there was a “significant disparity” in the Sharif family’s income and lifestyle.
But the Sharifs and their allies were defiant, with his ruling PML-N party dismissing the report as “trash” in a statement yesterday, and his daughter and presumptive political heir Maryam – also named in the report – vowing on Twitter that the allegations would be “decimated” in court.
It was not immediately clear what action the Supreme Court would take over the report, whose recommendations are not legally binding.
The controversy erupted last year with the publication of 11.5 million secret documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca documenting the offshore dealings of many of the world’s rich and powerful.
Three of Nawaz’s four children – Maryam and his sons Hasan and Hussein – were implicated in the papers.
In April, the Supreme Court said there was insufficient evidence to oust Nawaz from power, but ordered the formation of the JIT to probe the claims.
At the heart of the case is the legitimacy of the funds used by the Sharif family to purchase several high-end London properties via off- shore companies.
Nawaz’s ruling PML-N party insists the wealth was acquired legally, through family businesses in Pakistan and the Gulf.
“Failure on the part of all respondents to produce the requisite information confirming ‘known sources of income’ is prima facie tantamount to not being able to justify assets and the means of income,” the JIT report stated.
It also accused family members of submitting “falsified/tampered” documents, and made a new allegation against the prime minister, claiming he was the chairman of a secret offshore company in the United Arab Emirates.
The release of the report spurred fresh calls by opposition leaders and on social media for Nawaz to step down.
The charge was led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party has spearheaded the push against Nawaz.
Imran, who said Nawaz has lost “moral authority”, has also demanded the Supreme Court put the prime minister on the Exit Control List, claiming he is a security risk. — AFP