Imran pioneer of offshore companies: Pervaiz Rashid

Lahore: Federal Minister for Information,Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid on Saturday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was a pioneer of making offshore companies in Pakistan.
Addressing a news conference here, the minister said no offshore company was owned by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentarians, ministers and the Prime Minister while maximum number of PTI members had such firms.
He said the PTI chief was ‘Baba Adam’ of offshore companies, who who concealed truth and promoted falsehood. It was strange that he had remembered the runs made and wickets taken during 1983, but forgot about the offshore company set up by him that year, he added.

Pervaiz Rasheed questioned why did the PTI chief conceal facts about his offshore company such the reason behind its constitution, business deals, tax payment and the property bought through it.
Why had Imran Khan not disclosed his offshore company or source of income in his declaration of assets, he asked.
He said Imran Khan would have to answer all these questions before the Parliament and the commission.
The minister said Imran’s sister had spoken truth and admitted to have foreign property. “Was she also advised by him (Imran) as to how evade tax on wealth,” he questioned, saying every kind of corruption and white collar crime was committed by the PTI members.He said the person starting a debate on the Panama Papers and calling for morality had been exposed. Morally Imran Khan now had no
right continue politics as he was the pioneer of setting up offshore companies in Pakistan, he added.

He said Imran Khan had mentioned three reasons for setting up offshore committees in his tweets, speeches and press conferences that were tax evasion, hiding black money and money laundering.
But now he had fallen in the ditch which he had dug for the others,he added.

He said the largest number of Pakistanis owning offshore companies belonged to the PTI. Imran Khan himself and his sister,Jehangir Khan Tareen, Aleem Khan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Provincial Minister and his father owned offshore companies.

All the above six PTI persons had admitted of owning companies,which according Imran Khan’s criteria, was for evading tax, concealing black money and money laundering, he added.
A leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), he said, also had an offshore company while neither Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif nor his cabinet member or PML-N member of Parliament owned any such company.
The minister said Imran Khan was the oldest accused as he had established his offshore company in 1983. It was unbelievable that the person, who remembered all entire cricket career, including playing
in Australia, London and Kerry Packer etc., forgot about his company,did not pay tax and even did not mention any thing in this regard in his assets details submitted with the Election Commission before
general elections.
He said the Chief Justice of Pakistan, in his letter, had called for identification of the individuals, groups and companies, which would investigated by the inquiry commission.He said those involved in white collar crimes, such as EOBI scandals and waiving of loans, were found around the PTI chief.
They all would have to be answerable before the nation and the Parliament to justify continuing politics after being involved  land grabbing, owning offshore companies, waiving of loans,making provocative speeches against the government, besides attacking the Parliament and the Pakistan Television.