Fawad blames Sharifs, Zardari for ailing economy

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders once again laid the blame of the state of the country’s economy on the alleged corruption of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) previous governments.

“Corruption has led to inflation, falling exchange rate of Pakistan rupee, and all sorts of issues faced by Pakistanis abroad,” Chaudhry said as he detailed a raft of new allegations against the PML-N leadership.

“The Sharif family introduced the Economic Reform Act in 1992 to keep their source of capital hidden,” Chaudhry said during a marathon news conference flanked by Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar here on Sunday.

“It was found out that in late 1990s the Hudaibiya Paper Mills was involved in large suspicious transactions,” Radio Pakistan quoted the minister as saying. “[Former finance minister] Ishaq Dar introduced money laundering to the country, and he himself confessed his role in these transactions.”

The presser coincided with a tweet in the same vein from Prime Minister Imran Khan, who posted a quote from French economist Frederic Bastiat, which said, “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it,” and Khan’s own comment accompanying it: “The truth of this saying is reflected clearly in the way money launderers are treated and the way they behave with indignation when questioned.”

Chaudhry also claimed “a very small capital of the laundered money” had been brought to Pakistan by the Sharif family and “the rest is still abroad”.

Media reports quoted the minister as alleging that members of Shahbaz Sharif’s family “fled” the country to avoid investigation when the probe against him began. He also claimed over two million dollars “were transferred into the Sharif family accounts from unknown sources through telegraphic transfer”. The information minister added Shahbaz’s family did not have any known source of income in the country except Shahbaz’s remuneration while he was the Punjab chief minister.

He then trained his sights on the PPP leadership. In remarks quoted by Geo News, the minister said the former president Asif Ali Zardari was the beneficiary from the fake accounts made to transfer money abroad. “FIA detected as many as 5,000 fake accounts. At least 32 accounts were managing the entire scam,” he added. “Ayyan Ali, Bilawal Bhutto and his residence’s expenses were covered by such accounts. Omni group was included in the scam.”

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister’s aide on accountability, Shahzad Akbar also took to attacking the Sharifs. He alleged fake companies were set up in Dubai to launder money and “members of the Sharif family are unable to reply to the queries of NAB [National Accountability Bureau] regarding the corruption.”

He added: “The nation wants that accountability process reaches to its logical conclusion and we are committed to bring back the looted money.” He added it would not be a surprise if “PML-N’s Ayyan Ali emerges in coming days”.

Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar said former finance minister Ishaq Dar “is giving his opinion on current economic situation based on assumptions”. “No independent economist has endorsed the policies of Ishaq Dar,” he added.