Addressing the Kamyab Jawan Convention 2021 in Islamabad, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan termed the alleged leaked audio of the former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar as a “drama”.
“You need to understand from where all this started. A country where the head, prime minister, and ministers start stealing and taking public funds abroad […] countries are not poor because of lack of resources, they become poor when government officials start stealing from the people. Such a country can never progress,” said PM Khan.
“It is unfortunate that a man [Nawaz Sharif] who has been convicted by the Supreme Court and has absconded from the country addresses the event,” PM Khan
Commenting on the Asma Jahangir Conference, PM Khan said, “There was a function in Lahore where the chief justice and Supreme Court judges are invited, and who addresses that event? A man [Nawaz Sharif] who has been convicted by the Supreme Court and who has absconded from the country. It is unfortunate.”
He added that a nation was destroyed when it stopped considering looting money a bad thing.
“When a nation’s morals die, that nation dies.”
“No one can wipe out a nation if its morality is intact,” he remarked.
“You may call the courts and army bad, I have already been dubbed badly. But you need to answer from where did you get the money to buy those apartments,” PM Imran Khan
Commenting on the Panama Papers, the premier said that the investigation revealed that PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz owned four flats in London.
“Where did this money [for the apartments] come from?”
“You may call the courts bad, you may call the army bad and I have already been [dubbed] bad … But answer from where did you get the money to buy those apartments?”
The prime minister went on to say that he had been dragged to the court over an apartment he owned in the United Kingdom.
“[But] I submitted all the details [regarding the case] to the court,” he added, pointing out that he had bought the apartment when he was a cricketer and not a public office holder. “[Yet] I produced all the receipts, but they (PML-N leaders) lied in the National Assembly [regarding their assets].”
“Not a single document [has been shared] that shows the means to buy the flats [owned by them],” he said.
“Ever since we came into power three years ago, I am hearing that we will fail,” said the premier
Addressing the audience, especially the youth, PM Khan said that people told him that in a two-party system, a third party could not form the government. “Ever since we came into power three years ago, I am hearing that we will fail.”
“Everyone said it was impossible, but Allah made it possible,” he noted, adding that no person has ever become successful through shortcuts, as the secret to success was having a big vision and determination.
The prime minister said the country was going through a tough time due to the coronavirus as businesses had halted and prices of commodities shot up.
However, to alleviate the adverse effects of the pandemic, “the government, through Kamyab Pakistan, will provide interest-free loans to four million deserving households for building their own homes and teach them skills,” he said.
