Jahangir Tareen sacrificed to save Imran, PTI: Daniyal Aziz
If the decision was fair, then Imran Khan and PTI would not be around anymore, says PML-N leader
December 15, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Federal minister and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Daniyal Aziz on Friday said that Jahangir Tareen was sacrificed to save Imran Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf.
Aziz's remarks came after the Supreme Court disqualified PTI Secretary General Jahangir Tareen but ruled in favour of PTI Chairperson Imran Khan in its judgment on the disqualification case against the two party leaders.
Aziz alleged that political engineering is in play as the apex court has said it, Khursheed Shah and Farooq Sattar have said it too.
"If the decision was fair, then Imran Khan and PTI would not be around anymore," said Aziz.
The PML-N leader, further criticising the opposition party, stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been ordered to probe PTI's foreign funding for the last five years, while in Nawaz's case, the probe went back decades.
He further asked why millions of dollars received by Imran Khan earlier were hidden.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb added to Aziz's statement and said the decision was not surprising.
"Nawaz Sharif, during his GT road rally, had also said that one law can not have two sides," said the minister.
She added that on one hand Nawaz was disqualified on the basis of an Iqama and receivable income which he did not withdraw, while on the other hand, existence of an offshore company and foreign funding was said to have no bearing on the case.
Aurangzeb also alleged that Imran and PTI receive funds from Jews and Hindus and that money is uded to conduct sit-ins and slow the progress in the country.
The three-member bench had reserved the verdict in the disqualification petition against the two PTI leaders on November 14.
Reading the judgment, the chief justice ruled that Imran is not disqualified as a parliamentarian as the petitioner was not directly affected in the foreign funding case.
The court also ruled that the ECP will impartially investigate the foreign funding claims against the PTI chief by scrutinising accounts up till five years ago.
The judgment states that Imran wasn't bound to declare his offshore company, declared his London flat in an amnesty scheme and that his former wife Jemima gave Imran the funds for buying the Bani Gala estate.
Jahangir Tareen disqualified from Parliament
The judgment stated that the PTI secretary general had pleaded guilty to insider trading.
Tareen cannot be termed honest and stands disqualified for life as per Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, according to the Supreme Court judgment.
Article 62(1)(f) reads: "A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless-...he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law."
Moreover, the court ruled that Tareen used suspicious terms in his statements to the court.
It was also stated in the judgment that the court is not announcing its decision on Tareen's agriculture land matter.
Tareen did not declare his offshore company, the court stated.
The case
The case was heard by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar, who headed the three-member bench, which included Justices Umar Ata Bandial and Faisal Arab.
On Oct 18, the chief justice had remarked that the verdict of both the cases will be given together.
The petition, filed by PML-N's Abbasi, sought Tareen and Imran's disqualification over non-disclosure of their assets and ownership of offshore companies.
Abbasi had filed the petition in November last year. It accused the PTI leaders of not declaring their assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan and violations of the lncome Tax Ordinance, 1979, and Peoples Act, 1974. It also claimed that the PTI is a 'foreign-funded' party.
