Suleman Shahbaz rejects money-laundering allegations

[ahlam1399]

LONDON: Suleman Shahbaz Sharif has rejected as baseless and frivolous allegations by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that he has been involved in money-laundering, retaliating that PTI ministers and leaders are the actual money-launderers.PTI leaders and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have alleged that the former chief minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza and Suleman, who is in London these days with his family, have been involved in money laundering of Rs85 billion. Speaking to Shahzeb Khanzada on Geo News, Suleman Sharif accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of running “media trial” of Sharifs and PPP leadership to deflect attention from the real issues of price hike, electricity shortage, unbearable living costs and economic meltdown brought about by the “incompetent and clueless” team of the PTI.Suleman Sharif rejected allegations that he has been involved in money laundering and announced that he will be taking legal action against the government ministers involved in lying through national media on behest of the Prime Minister. “I brought money from abroad into Pakistan for investment and that’s not money laundering. Each and everything that I own is declared with the FBR. Every penny that I invested in Pakistan is declared and on board and record of each and every asset and business that I have ever owned is available with the relevant Pakistani authorities,” said Suleman Sharif.The reality, he alleged, is that Imran Khan’s own sisters Aleema and Rubina and his ministers including Faisal Vawda, Khusro Bakhtiyar and allies such as Chaudharies of Gujrat and Jahangir Tareen have been involved in money-laundering of billions, sending money out of Pakistan, to make assets abroad through offshore structures.“Aleema Khan, Rubina Khan, Jahangir Tareen, Faisal Vawda, Khusro Bakhtiyar and many PTI leaders laundered money from Pakistan and made assets abroad but Imran Khan has given them NRO.”Suleman Sharif accused that Imran Khan has set up a media cell in PM House and its members are tasked daily to make new allegations as well repeat the old ones.He maintained Imran Khan has no plan to take control of the economic meltdown “because he doesn’t understand the nuances of business and economic revival.”He said: “Imran Khan promised that he will bring to Pakistan 300 billion Rupees of Nawaz Sharif from abroad after coming into power. I ask him where is that money now? Why didn’t he bring that amount to Pakistan? He knows that he lied about that and now he wants to hide behind more allegations by accusing us of corruption. I challenge him to bring the alleged billions and give some of it to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) instead of going around like a beggar and asking for money.”Suleman said that he did not know anyone called Mahboob Ali and had never dealt with him. He said that all his record was available with the Pakistani authorities and PTI government was picking up “bits and pieces” from here and there and leaking to media for media trial for character assassination campaigns.“My father was detained by NAB for 120 days on allegations of corruption of billions, kickbacks and commission and what not but then found nothing against him. The Lahore High Court made it clear that NAB actions were malafide and unfair. I challenge the PTI government to prove a corruption of single rupee by my father or myself. There is a media onslaught against us and we have right to tell truth to Pakistani public,” he said.Suleman Sharif said that he has never held a public office and there is no question of him misusing his authority or for that matter anyone in his family. He maintained in 2012 Imran Khan declared that the value of his assets is only 12 crore rupees but within six years his assets ballooned to 4 billion rupees. “He has never worked all these years and he must explain how he made these assets?”Suleman Shahbaz said that he was living in London because his mother was getting treatment here; his newly born niece is getting treatment and also there was no hope of justice from the NAB.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/FOGw-sJpgAE

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