ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday said that his family was not afraid of accountability, as it was for the fifth time the family was undergoing such a process.
The Punjab CM appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the Panama Papers case to record his statement. He answered the queries of the investigation team about allegations of money laundering against the Sharif family. Strict security arrangements were put in place around the Federal Judicial Academy, which is the secretariat of the JIT.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Haneef Abbasi, CADD Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry along with other PML-N workers reached the FJA to show support for the Sharif brothers.
Talking to the media after his appearance, the CM said, “We were held accountable earlier, and we are being held accountable today… but this accountability is for personal business of the family.”
He said the Sharif family’s first accountability was held by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto under whose nationalised policy the family was deprived of the Ittefaq Foundry. “Its production was stopped, which left 10,000 labourers jobless.”
He said that the second accountability was held during the tenure of Benazir Bhutto from 1988-90 when their business was ruined, while the third accountability was held during 1993 to 1996. “We were made to undergone fourth accountability during the era of military dictator Musharraf,” he said.
He said that there was no allegation of corruption of even a single penny against the family in awarding of contracts of development projects, including metro bus service and motorways. “There is [also] no charge of embezzlement of national resources [against us],” he said, adding that the family was again being held accountable, so “we have presented ourselves for accountability”.
He said that his family had served the purpose of rule of law in the country by appearing before the JIT. “Unlike military dictators, we, the elected representatives, respect the law and the constitution.” He said that he recorded his statement before the JIT with utmost respect. Shahbaz said that he was suffering from back pain but he still appeared before the JIT without any excuse. “We respect the judiciary and its decisions,” he said, adding that the family was ready to undergo accountability for a hundred times more. “This is our soil… we love the land of our country.”
