Qatari prince was reluctant to appear before JIT but arrived for Port Qasim deal: Imran

ISLAMABAD (NNI): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has criticised the government on Wednesday by saying that Qatari prince did not arrive in Pakistan to appear before Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team (JIT) but landed in Lahore for Port Qasim agreement.

The PTI chief addressed a press conference in Islamabad and claimed that the government and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are working to save one person from corruption charges.

He said that the entire money trail that ousted premier Nawaz Sharif has is a letter of the Qatari prince. PTI chief has claimed that the Qatari prince had no issue to appear before the JIT and security concerns were mere excuses.

Statement of Khan has come in context of JIT hearings that were conducted earlier this year at Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad to probe assets of former first family of Pakistan after Nawaz Sharif was named in Panama Papers in 2016.

While talking about Faizabad sit-in protest by rightist groups, Imran Khan said that the country would have witnessed a huge chaotic situation had the army not intervened. Khan said that he offered two nawafil after the deadlock ended.

He said that it was a brazen lie of the government when the people were told that all political parties were agreed to the amendment that was brought to Elections Act 2017.

He challenged the government to put forth minutes of the meeting if the amendment was discussed by the committee. Khan rhetorically asked if the government amended the Elections Act 2017 to meet wishes of an ‘international lobby’.

Khan has demanded the government to identify those who had brought the controversial amendment in the law that hurt sentiments of a large number of people across the country.

PTI chief lambasted Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his cabinet by saying that one cannot say for sure if there is an incumbent government in Pakistan. He asserted that PM Abbasi and the entire ruling party is making efforts to save the disqualified premier and president of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif.

Khan criticised the leaders of PML-N that MNAs raised hands in National Assembly (NA) to have an alleged criminal re-elected as president of PML-N.