ISLAMABAD: A federal minister revealed on Wednesday that the government had no plan to hold an inquiry into the allegations that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had received money from intelligence agencies in 1990 as ordered by the Supreme Court in the Asghar Khan case.
“The Asghar Khan case is buried,” declared Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, the chief negotiator of the government with the opposition, while talking to reporters after attending a parliamentary committee meeting.
He also expressed apprehensions over the court’s recent decisions about delimitation of constituencies in Karachi and the Balochistan government. “We do not want the FIA director general to drag Mr Sharif,” Mr Shah said, adding that the PPP wanted the matter to be decided by the people.
Mr Shah’s remarks came a day after Mr Sharif said the credit for completion of the elected government’s five-year term went to his party. “We are thankful to Mr Sharif for supporting democracy despite efforts to pitch us against each other,” Mr Shah said while commenting on the PML-N chief’s remarks.
The apex court had, in its Oct 19 order in the Asghar Khan case, held the then military establishment and the presidency responsible for manipulating the 1990 elections through distribution of money among politicians.
Initially, the PML-N rejected an investigation by the FIA, but following criticism from different quarters, Mr Sharif — who had become prime minister as a result of the 1990 elections — announced that he was ready to face a probe through the agency.
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