Daily Times

KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will have to answer for the allegations levelled against the army in the Dawn Leaks case, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Sunday.

He was addressing a ‘Haqooq-i-Karachi’ rally at Jail Chowrangi in Karachi. “People will hold you accountable for how you put the national security at risk in Dawn Leaks. I thank Allah that your reality has been exposed,” Khan said.

He added that the PM of a democratic country must be answerable to the nation for criticising the army at a time when it was engaged in a war.

The PTI chief also criticised Nawaz Sharif for his statement about women PTI workers who had attended the party’s April 28 rally in Islamabad. “The country’s women are also ready to say ‘Go Nawaz Go’ now,” he said.

Imran Khan accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of laundering public money and promoting a culture of corruption.

“The Panamagate case is vital as it will determine whether leaders who laundered money will be held accountable or not. This case will decide the fate of Pakistan… it will decide whether Pakistan will remain a country of plunderers, like Zardari and Nawaz, or whether it will be a democracy,” he said.

The PTI chief said that Nawaz Sharif should resign because he had no moral grounds left to remain in power after the SC’s Panamagate judgement.

“After five judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan said that Nawaz Sharif is a liar, he cannot continue to serve as the PM,” Imran said.

Referring to his claim that he had been offered Rs 10 billion for staying silent on Panamagate issue, Imran Khan said that the man who had made him the offer lived in Lahore.

“It is good that you have announced to take the issue to court. I will now reveal the amount of bribe you gave to the politicians, media and judiciary in the last 30 years,” Imran Khan said.

The PTI chief also assailed the PPP for failing to resolve the problems facing Karachi.

“The money, which was meant to be spent on Sindh’s development, was laundered and taken abroad by the likes of Ayan Ali,” he said.

Khan said that an independent local government system functioned in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where 20 percent funds had been devolved down to the village level. “Your mayor Waseem Akhtar also said he wanted the local government system of KP in Sindh province,” he said. “When you will use police for your political purposes, how can that police provide safety to the general public,” he said.