Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s arch political rival Imran Khan addressed a big public meeting in Islamabad on Friday night, kicking off a mass mobilisation campaign to force the chief executive to step down in view of the Supreme Court verdict in the Panama leaks case.
Addressing the cheering crowd at the Parade Ground in the capital, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (justice movement) chairman called for rooting out the corruption-ridden system in the country.
He said in the April 20 majority judgement given by a five-member Supreme Court bench, two judges ruled Nawaz Sharif was dishonest and untrustworthy while three others called for further investigation against the prime minister and his two sons over the family’s assets abroad including expensive flats in London.
Imran Khan challenged Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz, chief minister of Punjab province, to carry out their threat to sue him over his claim that they had offered him billions of rupees through an intermediary if he stopped pursuing Panama leaks case.
“I will disclose the identity of the person who had brought the offer and give other details in the court if the Sharif brothers file a suit against him,” he said, inviting the two to publicly swear on holy Quran that they had never given any bribe to any people.
The main opposition Pakistan People’s Party, Jamaat e Islami and PML-Q have also held rallies to press Nawaz Sharif to resign for the duration of the two-month investigation to be conducted by a team of officers from key departments and military intelligence that the Supreme Court is about to constitute.
The High Court Bar in Punjab, the power base of the Sharifs, on Friday announced it would hold a convention of lawyers from all over the country on May 13 to launch a movement to compel the prime minister to quit.
“Pakistan is at a crossroads. If we let corrupt system continue the nation will have a bleak future,” Imran Khan said.
“Nawaz Sharif has no justification to cling to power after the judicial verdict. I call upon people in all walks of life and in every part of the country to rise and demand his resignation,” he said, announcing a programme of more rallies in different cities including Karachi in the weeks ahead.
