LONDON: With the verdict in PTI founder Imran Khan’s £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case expected today (Monday), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has renewed allegations of financial corruption against the ex-premier.

Speaking at a press conference in London on Sunday, Khawaja Asif said that corruption of trillions of rupees took place in the PTI’s four-year rule.

“There has been a lot of corruption in the last 75 years, but Imran Khan broke all records,” the minister alleged, adding that Imran and all of the people around him were involved in corruption.

He said when PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was pursuing Pakistan’s atomic programme, he received multiple monetary offers from other countries, including the United States, to halt the programme. “Nawaz focused on making Pakistan an atomic power,” Mr Asif said. “If Imran were in the same position, he’d forsake the national interest and take the $5 billion for himself.”

Asif says more to follow after military courts pronounce verdicts in May 9 cases

The minister said, “They (PTI supporters and members) tweet that the £190m went into the Supreme Court’s accounts, but that is not true. The money went into Malik Riaz’s accounts. When the court took notice, the differential between the value of the land and how much Malik Riaz paid was around Rs600bn,” he said. “Bahria was liable to pay and Imran Khan paid £190m against that. I brought this up in the public accounts committee first that this was the state’s money, and it belonged to the people.”

He alleged that Imran “obliged” Riaz and received 400 acres of land in return, as well as a position on the board of the Al-Qadir Trust University. “Imran, his wife and (Farah) Gogi all sit on the board,” he said. “The people of Pakistan need to know the truth.”

Planned attacks on military

The defence minister said military and sensitive installations were attacked after proper planning on May 9. The crowd was trained, and strategic locations, including defence installations, were targeted, he reasoned, a day after military courts sentenced 25 PTI activists to jail.

The verdicts were announced after thorough investigation and examining all evidences, he said, adding that more verdicts would follow.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024