Defence minister accuses Imran Khan of laundering funds through his charities

Published
59
The Defence minister speaks to the media in Sialkot on July 22 — DawnNews
The Defence minister speaks to the media in Sialkot on July 22 — DawnNews

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday took aim at Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for the latter's failure to establish a money trail for a flat he owns in London, saying that it was now Khan's turn to be held accountable.

The PML-N bigwig was talking to journalists in Sialkot.

Earlier in the day, it had emerged that Imran Khan could not submit complete financial records to the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to his ownership of assets in London.

Building on the news, Asif additionally accused Khan of investing charity money meant for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and Namal College in France and Oman.

He also stated that Khan's accountability should be "very different" from that of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as the former oversaw the dispensation of other people's donations while the latter was only being held accountable for his personal wealth.

Grouping together Khan's cancer hospital and Namal College — both social welfare projects — with Khan's political party, PTI, Asif said: "We need to find out whether [all of] these institutions are being used to launder money."

"Politics is a ruthless profession," he continued, seemingly realising that he was accusing welfare projects of a serious crime. Nonetheless, he insisted that "Khan should not hide behind his institutions when he is held accountable."

"Nawaz Sharif did not ask to be exempted, although he had the right. The law should be the same for Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif," Asif said.

Asif also accused Khan of 'whitening' his 'black money' by taking advantage of amnesty schemes that allowed people to repatriate wealth in return for paying one per cent in lieu of unpaid taxes on them.

"The past three to four years have proven you are 'Double Shah'," Asif said in a comment directed at the PTI chief, alluding to a notorious fraud who ran a Ponzi scheme in Pakistan.

"By the time money made its way into cricket, you had begun other businesses," he said, asking how Khan had been able to build his assets.

Moving on to Panamagate and the Supreme Court's pending ruling on the matter, Asif said: "There is no example in history of the way Nawaz Sharif was held accountable."

Demanding that Khan also be held accountable for "three generations", especially whatever he inherited from his father, Asif said that: "We will not let him avoid accountability."

To a question, the defence minister stated that his party was not even considering the possibility of the prime minister's disqualification by the Supreme Court, therefore no name, including his own, was under consideration for premiership in case Sharif had to step down.

Downplaying a statement made by the prime minister in which he accused the opposition of being "puppets", he said the statement is being "misconstrued".

On his rumoured fallout with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Asif said disagreement was a facet of democracy and that his differences with Nisar were a "personal matter".

"[At the end of the day] all of us have to say amen to what the leadership decides," Asif said.

Opinion

Editorial

Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...
Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...