Ishaq Dar BBC HARDtalk intervew: PTI lawmakers lash out at former finance minister

PTI lawmakers have taken to social media to bash former finance minister Ishaq Dar for his interview on BBC News' show "HARDtalk"

Dar, who is also a close aide of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, revealed during the interview that he owns only one property in Pakistan and that too, has been seized by the government. 

"I have my main residence in Pakistan which has been taken over by this regime," he said, hitting out at the incumbent PTI-led government. "I haven't gotten too many properties. My net worth is what has been (inaudible)".

Exposed for the umpteenth time: Hammad Azhar

Responding to the PML-N leader's claims of financial transparency, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar stated that "Dar has been exposed for the umpteenth time".

"Dar has been exposed...for the umpteenth time! He is best known for figure fudging and cuckoo economics. But now he'll also be remembered for this interview," the minister said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari shared a video clip from the interview, where the host of the programme can be seen cross-questioning the former lawmaker about his properties and assets. Taking a dig at the former finance minister, she wrote in the caption: "Oops - when you get caught out!".

'Any shame?', asks Murad Saeed

Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed said that the world lauds Prime Minister Imran Khan for his vision and foreign policy and yet the Opposition leaders have something totally different to say.

Read more: In BBC HARDtalk interview, Ishaq Dar says he owns only one property in Pakistan

"[Do you have any shame?]The world appreciates Imran Khan's steps in the national interest and the best foreign policy. Listen, to how the world views Imran Khan's foreign policy and then [reflect on what] this corrupt gang says," the PTI lawmaker lashed out on Twitter.

Absconding money launderer masquerading as a politician: Ali Zaidi

Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi also grilled the former politician, while referring to him as an "absconder" and thanked the international broadcaster for airing the interview.

"Thank you for exposing this absconding money launderer who masqueraded as a politician in Pakistan & is now seeking political asylum in the UK!" Zaidi said in a tweet.

 Shehzad Akbar says 'limit of lying'

Commenting on the matter, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability, Shahzad Akbar said Dar's claims of people losing their lives under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is a limit of falsehood and inveracity.

The host asked Dar if his property and all the taxes he had paid were on record then why was he hesitant about going to Pakistan, the former finance minister replied: "Well, let's see what is happening in Pakistan. Where are the human rights in Pakistan? Dozens of people have been killed in NAB's custody, virtually."

"Ishaq Dar is saying on BBC World that dozens of people have died in NAB custody and that he has only one property and that he has been undergoing treatment in the UK for last 3 years. This is the limit to their lies, he has even left behind the Queen of Calibri," he criticised on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar shared Iqbal's poetry to criticise Dar. "In Ishaq Dar's Hard Talk program, Allama Iqbal's poem came to mind after watching the " allegations" leveled against the country and its state institutions," Umar said in a tweet.

Dar, lashing out at anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau, had accused it of targeting the government's opponents. "It lost its integrity a long time ago," he had said of the anti-graft body, adding that he had said the same when he was a minister during a press conference.

The former finance minister said that the prime allegation against him was that he had not filed his tax returns for the past 20 years. This, Dar said, was false as he had filed his tax returns in the UK, the US, and Pakistan as well.

"I am here for my medical treatment — I have a cervical [issue]," he had said, adding that he was in London for almost three years.