Shaan Shahid, known for his hard-hitting statements, called former finance minister Ishaq Dar “shameless to the core” after the latter’s interview with BBC HARDTalk went viral on social media.
The actor, in a social media post, wished that “Pakistani authorities were strong on accountability as these people are bad image for Pakistan”.
He also tagged Prime Minister Imran Khan in his tweet, requesting him to take action against the corrupt.
“Corrupt should be made an example of by putting them behind bars and strip them of all the assets they sold their soul to make,” wrote the actor further. “Let there be a wall of shame built and let their names be written there forever so the nation could see that lies never win no matter how rich they are.”
“Let it be known that honesty and truth will always remain our core values. Let the truth win for once. Pakistan Zindabad”, he concluded.
Later, when a Twitter asked Shaan: “Are you [an] actor or politician? Or [a] puppet like Shahbaz Gill?,” Shaan responded: “I’m a Pakistani first, who is hurt by the words and the actions of the corrupt. In cleaning themselves, they are dirtying the name of Pakistan.”
DAR ON HARDTALK
Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile after corruption cases were filed against him, appeared on BBC News to talk about corruption charges, PML-N fight against the government, and NAB.
When the host asked Dar about the number of properties owned by his family. The PML-N leader responded, “It’s all in my tax returns.”
Upon the insistence of the host, he said: “I have my main residence in Pakistan which has been taken over by this regime… I haven’t got too many properties.”
“How many properties do you and your family own,” the host asked him again. At this, Dar said: “One.” At this, the show host asked him about the news reports in the Pakistan press that claim that the former PML-N minister owned multiple properties in and outside Pakistan. “You are sitting in London and you don’t own anything here,” the host asked Dar.
Dar responded that he doesn’t own any property in London or anywhere else as claimed by the media reports.
However, he went on to admit that his sons recently acquired a villa in Dubai. “They are adult and are in the business for the past 17 years,” he clarified.
Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.
Meanwhile, Shaan has often voiced his support for PM Khan and spoken against PML-N, Nawaz Sharif and his aides.
In a recent interview, Shaan had said that though he is not from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or any other political party, he believes that Pakistan needs to give the PTI government, which came to power in 2018, more time to govern.
“The race is not yet finished,” said the actor. “Give him [PM Imran] enough time to prove himself. As a Pakistani, I feel that this [PTI government] is the last hope for democracy in the country.”
