Prime Minister Nawaz’s Family Respond To Panama Papers Leak
Monday, April 4th, 2016 10:18:03 by modousarr
In response to the Panama Papers leak which is considered to be one of the biggest leaks in history, the family of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif defended their ownership of the offshore holdings on Monday.
Containing 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, it revealed the secret money stashed away in offshore countries by the world’s most powerful people.
Three of Sharif’s four children were named-Mariam, considered to be Sharif’s political successor, Hasan and Hussain. They were named as owners of London real estate through offshore companies directed by the firm.
Umar Cheema of the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan (CIRP) was reported to say “Nawaz Sharif does not own any company but having companies in the name of his children also raises questions.”
In partnership with the Investigative Consortium of Independent Journalists (ICIJ), CIRP spent months looking over and analyzing documents before the Sunday leaks.
“There are more than 200 Pakistanis which our report has identified, and they include lawyers, lawmakers and some people from the judiciary,” he said.
Imran Khan, an opposition leader, demanded for sudden action to be implemented against Sharif after the release.
He tweeted “Our stance vindicated again as Sharif’s wealth stashed abroad exposed”, adding that the country’s policy watchmen and those in highest authority such as the election commission “must take action”.
However, Hussain, Sharif’s son, was reported to have told a private broadcaster that his family had done “nothing wrong”.
Hussain, in comments that showcased on Monday: “Those apartments are ours and those offshore companies are also ours.”
“There is nothing wrong with it and I have never concealed them, nor do I need to do that.
“It is according to British law and laws of other countries that it is a legal way to avoid unnecessary tax via offshore companies.”
Having left Pakistan in 1992 and therefore not a resident, he did not fail to mention that Pakistani tax law “says that if you are not staying in Pakistan for more than 138 days, then you are not required to declare your assets”.
In response to Imran Khan’s call for an investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), he stated “we voluntarily present ourselves before it or any other judicial and investigative institution in Pakistan”.
He offered one final strike at Imran, demanding that he provide “proof that the Prime Minister has not declared his assets”.
“If he is successful in that then we are ready to accept our fault and undergo punishment,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif’s office has in the time being failed to comment on the issue.
A financial analyst, Ali Nadir, claimed that offshore companies were in most cases legitimate.
However he added, “I believe political and business leaders will be hard pressed to take the privacy defence given the worldwide move towards a better track of money, tax evasion, laundering and corruption.
“This may also start more locally focused probes as there are likely to be disclosure issues.”
The Panama Papers have created storm of controversy over the issue offshore wealth, involving political leaders, sports entities and underworld members all over the world, resulting in a ballooning scandal.
Pervaiz Rashid: Nawaz Sharif faithful in paying taxes and has no funds abroad
Information Minister, Pevez Rashid, giving his comments against Imran Khan’s remarks regarding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family’s alleged illegal assets; he (Rashid) termed such remarks as “allegations without any proofs”.
Speaking to members of the media in Islamabad on Monday, he added, “Nawaz Sharif regularly pays his taxes and has no funds abroad.”
Rashid claimed that Imran’s accusations were not-for-the-first-time false and asked for the politician to apologize for laying false accusations against political novelties without any basis.
“Panama leaks did not talk about any company of Sharif family which is enough proof that all the allegations of stashing funds abroad against the family are false,” he continued.
He further mentioned how the Sharif family were forced out of Pakistan in the 90s and not permitted to return in a long while which “compelled them to establish their business abroad.”
“Sons of Nawaz Sharif have been living abroad for a long time and they were not allowed to come to Pakistan which is why they started their business abroad.”
“Today, no one talks about the mistreatment which was meted out to the business of Sharif family during the past regimes in the country,” he lamented.
“Even Nawaz Sharif’s deadliest woes could not prove a single corruption case against him. Benazir Bhutto never hurled any accusation against Nawaz Sharif for corruption nor could Musharraf prove anything against him
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