In his address with the nation, the Pakistan premier said a few elements are targeting him and his family to achieve their political objectives and for this purpose ’25-year-old accusations’ are once again given a hype on media.
Family struggle
Narrating his father’s struggle, Sharif explained how his father set up a steel giant ‘Ittefaq Foundries’ and expanded it to Dhaka alongside providing employment to thousands of people and adding hundreds of millions to the national exchequer.
He lamented that the branch of Ittefaq Foundries in Bangladesh was lost in the wake of Dhaka Fall, while the industrial empire in Lahore was nationalized by the then ZA Bhutto administration.
“My father did not complain and once again began his efforts that saw him build up six more factories within a period of 18 months,” he said while addressing the nation. “It was then that I was through the end of my university days and none of our family members was into politics, yet these enterprises contributed several crore rupees in national treasury.”
‘Hardships’
“We faced hardships when we were not into politics and became a victim of personal and political vendetta,” he bemoaned. “Economical blockade of our business continued in the second tenure of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). In 1989, Jonathan, the ship that used to transport raw material for our industrial empire, was not allowed to offload that inflicted Rs 50 crore losses.”
“Then came 1999, of which you are all aware of,” he said recalling 14 months’ imprisonment of him and his brother before being sent into exile. “Our business was ruined, while we were even forced out of our ancestral home in Model Town.”
“The entire state apparatus was tasked with ruthless accountability of our family and we faced it for years, and emerged victorious on every forum; none of the accusations against us could be proven in the courts.”
Steel mill in KSA
He went on to say that his father set up a steel mill near Makkah after obtaining loans from Saudi banks, which was sold along with all assets after some time.
“Hassan and Hussain then started their businesses with this capital,” explained the prime minister. “Hassan resides in UK since 1994 and Hussain in Saudi Arabia since 2000, and both are doing their businesses legally.”
He castigated that his family members are criticized for doing business within the country and allegations are leveled against them if they do so abroad.
The prime minister said that those who earn money through unfair means do not hold companies or assets in their own name.
“We returned nearly six billion loan we had obtained and not a single penny was written off,” he reminded. “And never linked our businesses with our rule in the country.”
‘Lack of time’
Towards the end of his address, the premier said he is determined to steer the country to the path of development and doing so he ‘lacks the time’ to respond to every allegation of his opponents.
“I am well aware of the objectives behind such allegations, but do not want to waste my energies on them,” he said.
The Pakistan PM said that he, however, wants the nation to be aware of true facts for which he announced to constitute a judicial commission to probe Panama leaks, which will be headed by a retired judge of Supreme Court (SC).
Sharif said the commission will probe the matter and report his findings, urging his opponents to consult the legal body and prove their allegations.
پانامہ کاہنگامہ،وزیراعظم کاعدالتی کمیشن بنانےکااعلانپانامہ کاہنگامہ،وزیراعظم کاعدالتی کمیشن بنانےکااعلان
Posted by ARY News on Tuesday, 5 April 2016
