'Nawaz, Zardari ruined institutions to avoid accountability'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday said that rulers like Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari ruined country’s institutions to save themselves from accountability, ARY News reported.

Addressing party workers in Islamabad’s Parade Ground, Khan claimed that he was overjoyed by the Supreme Court’s decision to hold PM accountable and the court’s comments that ‘institutions are not working in Pakistan.’

“If NAB and FBR were to catch the thieves then there was no need for us to take to streets,” said Imran Khan who cancelled the protest scheduled for today after Supreme Court began hearing a case into the ‘Panama Papers’ leaks and offered to form a commission to investigate revelations that Sharif’s children held offshore bank accounts.

Accusing Nawaz Sharif and Zardari of entering into a collusion in the appointment of NAB chief, he maintained that if NAB chairman had some self-respect, he would have resigned after the court’s comments.

He criticised the opposition leader Khursheed Shah over what he termed his ‘double speak’ over the Panama papers scandal and said that Shah first advised him to resolve the issue in parliament but then referred him to court for same.

Imran Khan again questioned PM’s reluctance to resign by saying that PML-N made Rana Mashhood resign over corruption investigation, same happened with Pervaiz Rasheed but Nawaz himself refuses to resign during investigation over Panama scandal.

Sheikh Rasheed’s Cigar

Reminding the federal government of its accusations, Khan claimed that he and his accomplices were accused of bringing weapons to the capital but the only weapon they had was ‘Sheikh Rasheed’s cigar’.

About KP CM Pervez Khattak’s journey to Islamabad, Khan said that he only stopped Khattak to avoid bloodshed as the government was getting meaner in dealing with PTI workers.

“No matter those (stopping Khattak’s caravan) were Punjab police officers but they were Pakistanis at the end of the day,” said Khan, adding that he did not want people of Pakistan to fight with each other.

 

Pervez Khattak’s speech

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Pervez Khattak, who braved police shelling on his way to Islamabad, said that government accused Imran Khan of trying to lock down Islamabad but put obstacles around capital and itself locked down the city.

“We would have shown what we are capable of if Imran Khan had provided us some more days,” said Khattak.

Khattak denied speaking anything against Punjab or the people of Punjab and said that the rumours were spread to sow a seed of discord between provinces.

The KP CM said that corrupt rulers have humiliated Pakistan across the world and today our green passport has no value but once Imran Khan comes into power the green passport will be an honourable possession.