Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that those who looted the nation deserved no leniency, and no National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) or other relaxations could be given to the corrupt.
“People have said that I should forgive those who have looted the country, but it is not my money that they have looted,” the premier said as he addressed the International Rehmatullil Alameen Conference in Islamabad while his political nemesis and convicted former PM Nawaz Sharif packed bags for London.
Imran added that people donated to charities, but did not pay taxes. “If they don’t give taxes, how will the country move forward? Those who plundered the wealth of the nation deserve no right to be spared.”
The statements came soon after reports claiming that the Imran-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had allowed Nawaz to travel abroad for medical treatment after his health deteriorated in jail.
The convicted former premier was earlier granted bail during his stay at Lahore’s Services Hospital following a critical decline in his platelet count.
NAWAZ’S TICKET CANCELLED:
Nawaz, accompanied by his brother Shehbaz Sharif and family physician Dr Adnan, was scheduled to leave for London on Monday via Qatar Airways’ commercial flight QR-629 from Lahore.
His ticket, however, was canceled as his name remains on the Exit Control List (ECL) despite Shehbaz’s request seeking its removal for medical treatment abroad.
Soon after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief’s request, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had opposed the removal of ailing Nawaz’s name from the no-fly list whereas government sources had hinted at possible foreign travel permission to the ex-PM.
While Imran’s government had also allowed the premier to travel abroad for medical treatment, the premier had reportedly said that Nawaz’s removal from the ECL was subject to NAB’s approval.
The statements had come despite Federal Interior Minister Brig (r) Ijaz Shah on October 31 saying that Nawaz’s name was not on the list in the first place.
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“I checked the record and we did not put him [Nawaz Sharif] on ECL,” he had said while addressing a joint press conference with Special Assistant to the PM on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan.
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