‘I am a majnoo,’ Pakistan PM Shehbaz Khan says in courtroom. Here’s why

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif testified on Saturday in a particular courtroom listening to within the PKR 16 billion cash laundering case towards him that he had refused to take any wage when he was the Chief Minister of Punjab province, and termed himself a “majnoo” for doing so.

Shehbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman had been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in November 2020 beneath varied sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Hamza is at present the Chief Minister of Punjab province, whereas Suleman is absconding and residing within the UK.

Meanwhile, the courtroom on Saturday prolonged the pre-arrest bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz and his son Hamza until June 4.

Also learn: Meet Shehbaz Sharif, the person set to take up reins in Pak after Imran Khan’s ouster

The FIA investigation has mentioned that it has detected 28 benami accounts, allegedly of the Shehbaz household, by way of which an quantity of 14 billion Pakistani Rupees (USD 75 million) was laundered from 2008 to 2018.

The FIA examined the cash path of 17,000 credit score transactions.

The quantity was saved in “hidden accounts” and given to Shehbaz in his private capability, in line with the costs.

The premier with the permission of Judge Ijaz Hassan Awan took to the podium and mentioned: “I have not taken anything from the government in 12.5 years, and in this case, I am accused of laundering Rs 2.5 million.”

“God has made me the Prime Minister of this country. I am a majnoo (fool) and I did not take my legal right, my salary and benefits,” he mentioned throughout the listening to.

He recalled that the secretary had despatched a word to him for sugar exports throughout his tenure as Punjab Chief Minister, when he had set an export restrict and rejected the notes.

Shehbaz first grew to become Chief Minister of Punjab in 1997 when his brother Nawaz was the Prime Minister.

Following General Pervez Musharraf’s coup in 1999 toppling the Nawaz Sharif authorities, Shehbaz together with the household spent eight years in exile in Saudi Arabia earlier than returning to Pakistan in 2007.

He wore the hat of Punjab Chief Minister for the second time period in 2008 and assumed the identical slot for the third time in 2013.

“My family lost PKR 2 billion because of my decision. I am telling you the reality. When my son’s ethanol production plant was being set up, I still decided to impose a duty on ethanol. My family lost PKR 800 million annually because of that decision. The previous government withdrew that notification stating that it was injustice with the sugar mills,” he claimed.

The Prime Minister’s counsel Advocate Amjad Pervaiz advised the courtroom that the laundering case was “politically motivated” and “based on mala fide intentions” by the erstwhile authorities headed by Imran Khan.

Since he was voted out of energy final month, Imran Khan has been focusing on Shehbaz on his cash laundering fees, and has labelled his successor as an “extremely corrupt man.”

“The man who has 16 billion and 8 billion rupees of corruption cases, whoever selects and elects the Prime Minister cannot be a bigger insult to the country. We are resigning from the National Assembly,” Khan’s celebration, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had tweeted after Shehbaz had change into the Pakistan Prime Minister.

Khan, the 69-year-old politician-turned cricketer calls Shehbaz a “Crime Minister” and vows to proceed his wrestle to ship what he phrases the “imported government” residence.