Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday said that Shehbaz Sharif “lied for more than one hour during his press briefing.”
Fawad held a press conference in Islamabad to share details of the money-laundering case against Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz.
Responding to Shahbaz Sharif’s press conference earlier in the day, he said that he held a long press conference but nobody was able to understand what he was trying to say.
“He continued to lie throughout the one hour and 10 minutes press conference instead of providing answers to the allegations against him.”
Shehbaz, in his press briefing, had said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) could not prove corruption of “even a single penny” against him and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The minister said that the “Sharif family has become habitual of distorting the truth.”
“Unfortunately, fake news was disseminated two days ago and all those involved in publishing the news are well-known to the public for having ties with the Sharif family,” he continued.
“The headlines that were carried [by a media outlet] were part of a propaganda,” Fawad said, adding that the money-laundering probe initiated against the Sharif family in London was “not started upon the request of the Pakistani government.”
He said that the two-year-long probe by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) was launched into the accounts of a frontman named Zulfiqar Ahmed.
“The NCA had started probing the accounts of Zulfiqar Ahmed and Suleman Shahbaz. It was the agency’s own decision [and had nothing to do with the Pakistani government].”
The NCA also approached Pakistan’s Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) to seek the details of financial transactions and hundis. “The case was neither initiated by the Pakistani government nor mentioned anything about Shehbaz,” he said.
He said that there are two cases against Shehbaz Sharif in Pakistani courts. One of the cases was registered by NAB Lahore against him and his family members in reference to Rs7.32 billion.
Fawad said that for the last six months, the court did not have a judge which allowed Shehbaz to hold press conferences and deliver speeches in the assembly.
He said that there was another Rs25 billion case against him registered by the FIA as a result of the probe carried out by the Sugar Inquiry Commission.
Fawad said that when the PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan talk about accountability and the looted money, they are only concerned because “this money belongs to the people of Pakistan.”
