Muhammad Asad
ISLAMABAD: Government Media team comprising of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain along with Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Farrukh Habib showed up to respond to today’s press conference of Opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif, on Wednesday.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting said that the government of Pakistan or its institutions are not behind the probe of British National Crimes Agency (NCA) in the cases against Shahbaz Sharif and his son Suleman Shahbaz.
While referring opposition leader press conference earlier in the day, Information Minister said that Shahbaz Sharif talked for an hour and ten minutes and lied throughout the news conference.
Fawad accused the Sharif family of distorting the truth and stressed that neither the government nor the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) did not approach UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) for a probe into the alleged money laundering of Shahbaz Sharif and his son Suleman Shahbaz.
Fawad said that a section of media reported a fake news two days ago, he maintained that the probe initiated by UK’s criminal watchdog was not requested by the government of Pakistan or ARU.
Fawad was of the view that the UK’s Criminal Investigation Agency initiated probe against Suleman Shahbaz and his front man Zulfiqar on some dubious transaction by them and government of Pakistan is not involved in it.
However, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain informed the media that in fact, it was NCA who approached the government of Pakistan/Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) seeking details of financial transactions made by the accused in the case under investigation by the foreign agency.
After clearing the government’s end, Fawad said that presently there were two ongoing investigations against the opposition leader in Pakistani courts including a case registered by FIA against Shahbaz Sharif worth Rs. 25 billion in connection with sugar scam while another Rs. 7.32 billion case under probe by NAB Lahore.
He said that Sharif family has been running the money laundering networks from Al-Arabia and Ramazan Sugar mills through 57 bank accounts in the name of their workers/employees.
Fawad said that Sharif family including Nawaz Sharif must come to the country to face the courts and prove their innocence if so.
According to Fawad, if the courts hear the cases against Shahbaz Sharif on daily basis it will be helpful in bringing the cases toward their logical end.
