Imran explains he kept £190m pact confidential on NCA demand

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has said that £190m had been received from the UK’s National Crime Agency under an agreement that it would be kept confidential.

Talking to reporters at Adiala Jail on Monday, he explained that the money had been seized in the UK for being a “suspicious transaction,” not linked to money laundering. “The case was discussed in the cabinet in length. The transfer of money would have been delayed for another five years, if the case had been heard by a civil court. Pakistan had already suffered a loss of £100m in different cases. The NAB also investigated the case but closed it, which was reopened after two years. The NAB chairman, vice-chairman and prosecutor general resigned over the issue,” he elaborated.

He said that he would write a letter to the Army Chief over conditions in the country. Talking about the issue of PTI MNA Sher Afzal Marwat, he said, “I have no problem with him if he follows the party line. I had asked him several times not to violate the party policy. Marwat made a controversial statement at a time when a Saudi delegation was visiting Pakistan.”

However, he acknowledged Marwat’s sacrifices and contributions to the party. “He should not have repeatedly violated the party policy,” Khan added. Imran Khan said the country’s income was not increasing as no one was willing to invest here. “Rates of electricity and gas will increase further before the budget and the salaried class will take to the streets. The government will also impose Rs1000b new taxes. Jun and July will be a big test for the government. People will protest after the budget,” he predicted.

When asked by reporters to call Farah Gogi and Shahzad Akbar to Pakistan to testify in his favour, he said there was a law of the jungle in the country and they would be arrested at airport. “I have met Farah Gogi only thrice. She is a friend of Bushra Bibi,” he added.

He said he was the head of the largest party of the country and he was being asked to apologise. “I will never apologise,” he added. He claimed that the SIFC was wielding all power. He said he will move court against former caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s statement on Form 47. He said it was unfortunate what had happened in Azad Kashmir. “Asif Zardari has claimed immunity in all cases after becoming the President,” he lamented.

Meanwhile, the PTI founder considered a bank officer to be the Registrar of the Supreme Court during the hearing of the case. He waved a document and proudly said that the SC Registrar had submitted a statement in the NAB court that a Rs13 billion profit was earned on the money received from the National Crime Agency. However, the document in his hands was not a statement of the SC Registrar, but that of an officer of the National Bank of Pakistan.

After the hearing, the NAB officials denied that it was the statement of the SC Registrar. In an informal conversation with journalists, the NAB officials said that NBP officer Gohar Masood had submitted a statement about the profit to the court. After the hearing, PTI leader Intizar Panjutha also denied Imran Khan’s statement and said the bank officer had confirmed that the money in the Supreme Court account had earned a profit. “The statement was not from the SC Registrar,” he admitted.