Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday offered himself for accountability, asking the government to look into his earnings and investigate whether he had concealed assets or not.

Addressing the National Assembly, Imran Khan also offered the government to include Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) in the terms of reference of the commission being set up to investigate Panama leaks.

The PTI chief said that it was opposition’s duty to question the government if it misuses the taxpayers’ money. “Parliament is of no use if opposition doesn’t keep check on the government,” he said. “If the government wants to take away the right from opposition to raise voice against any wrongdoings, then what is the purpose of calling parliament’s session which costs Rs 60,000 per minute?” he asked.

Talking about his residence in Bani Gala and accountability, Imran said the government has institutions like FBR and NAB who can investigate whether his wealth was legal or illegal.

Referring to repeated attacks against SKMCH by the government functionaries, the PTI chief said the government was running a smear campaign against a charitable organization which provided free-of-cost cancer treatment to the poor in the absence of government facilities in this regard.”You are the government … you have investigative agencies under your command and if you suspect any wrongdoing in SKMCH, you are more than welcome to investigate it,” he said.

Talking about his flat in London that was bought using an offshore company, Imran said that his accountant told him that it was completely legal and he never hid its ownership. He said that all his wealth was earned abroad and he shifted that money to Pakistan. “I was not a British citizen and thus was liable to pay tax on the apartment if there was no offshore company,” he added. The PTI chief was of the opinion that if the offshore companies connected to the Sharif family did not own property worth billions, they would have been irrelevant and no issue would have arisen regarding their existence. “Nawaz Sharif said he had no connection with the offshore companies. But he did have a connection, as Maryam Nawaz in 2011 stated that she was his dependant, while ICIJ documents show she owned two offshore companies during that time,” said the PTI chief.The two offshore companies owned Mayfair Apartments, hence it was incorrect to say that Nawaz had no connection as he was her guardian at that time, he added.

Imran denounced PML-N’s accusations that the opposition was hindering country’s development by protests and sit-ins and said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, while addressing a summit, had said that corruption-stricken countries could not develop unless their leaders were not held accountable.

The PTI chief said that it was a unanimous decision of the opposition to walk out of parliament if the prime minister did not address the questions the opposition had raised.