- Defence Czar criticizes Imran Khan for shifting from earlier ‘Absolutely Not’ stance to ‘Absolutely Yes’
- Hopes ‘justice will prevail’ in £190m case against Imran, his wife
SIALKOT/ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday stated that the US had made no demand to provide relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, accusing PTI of spreading false information and trying to damage Pakistan’s reputation.
“Pakistan’s relationship with the U.S., he said, is built on 76 years of diplomacy and mutual interests, not on short-term political games,” Kh Asif while addressing a press conference here on Sunday.
He criticized Imran Khan and PTI for shifting from their earlier “Absolutely Not” stance to “Absolutely Yes,” saying this shows a complete change in their position.
The defence minister also slammed the former ruling party for expecting support from the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump down the line.
Asif further stated that no contact had been made [by Washington] at the government level to seek relief for the PTI founder.
He also accused PTI of staging fake dramas, including claims about congressional hearings, to gain public sympathy and political advantage.
Ahead of the verdict in the high-profile £190 million case against PTI founder, the Defence Minister expressed the hope that “justice will prevail” as an accountability court was set to announce its judgment tomorrow.
“While accusations had been made against past rulers, what transpired during the PTI’s government was “unprecedented,” he added.
Commenting on the £190 million settlement case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader alleged that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had sent the settlement money to Pakistan. However, the then-premier Khan allegedly used the funds to purchase land and establish the Al-Qadir Trust instead.
He asked the national media to investigate whether Al-Qadir Trust was a university or not. “We hope that a verdict will be announced tomorrow and justice will be served,” he added.
The reserved verdict of the £190 million case against the PTI founder will be announced on Monday (tomorrow) which was previously scheduled for January 6. The judgement was deferred multiple times by the accountability court which reserved it on December 18, 2024.
The former prime minister along with his wife, Bushra and others have been accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of causing a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer via a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon.
Highlighting rifts within the PTI leadership, the PML-N leader pointed out that Aleema Khan, the former premier’s sister, had made statements before the media, while some PTI leaders appeared to prefer seeing their founder remain behind bars.
In response to a question, Asif blamed the PTI founder’s family and PTI leaders for “politically exploiting [Imran Khan’s] party.” He pointed to the November 26 protest as evidence of his claim, stating that while jailed Khan had agreed to stage a sit-in at Sangjani, Bushra took the PTI protesters to D-Chowk and then “fled from there.”
Asif further blamed PTI for causing a deadlock in negotiations, saying they are not serious about talks. He added that the truth behind their political manoeuvres will soon be exposed.
