Farah Gogi was Imran's frontperson in Punjab, says Marriyum

Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has responded to Imran Khan’s whitepaper against the current government, saying if Khan’s mantra of corruption was true why did he fail to prove any charges against opposition leaders in his three and a half years of rule.

Aurangzeb said that not only corruption charges could not be proved in Pakistani courts but also the UK’s National Crimes Agency had concluded that Sharifs were not involved in money-laundering.

She said the PTI government sent Anti Narcotics Force after Rana Sanaullah and submitted fake documents before the court. Imran khan instructed FIA director-general to make cases against Khawaja Asif, she said. 

The federal minister said that Imran Khan’s political career was riddled with lies and he had repeated the same old and “worn out” allegations on Sunday.

Marriyum addressed a press conference shortly after Khan spoke and defended the exorbitant increase in Farah Khan's wealth.

She said Farah Khan alias Gogi’s wealth could be traced back to Bani Gala, Khan’s residence, as she was his frontperson in Punjab. Imran Khan appointed Buzdar as Punjab's chief minister to get bribes for transfer and posting, the information minister claimed.

“The Assets Recovery Unit [under Shehzad Akbar] was asset making unit. Where is Shehzad Akbar now?,” she said adding that every plan laid out by Akbar was meant to plunder wealth.

Marriyum said that not only did Khan sell state gifts from Toshakhana (gift repository) but also took away a government vehicle of Rs150 million worth.

She also claimed that Imran khan received a pistol as gift from a foreign country and it was not declared with the Toshakhana, hence it was “smuggled” to Pakistan.

Comparing this with the charges against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Marriyum said that Nawaz was ousted from power on the basis of Iqama.

In 2017, Nawaz was disqualified for a lifetime after Supreme Court ruled that a UAE iqama — or work visa — made him entitled to receive a salary, while he was still the prime minister and had not declared that income.

Marriyum said that Imran Khan’s call for a long march on Islamabad at the end of May marked the demise of his politics.

She said Khan damaged Pakistan’s relations with all Muslim countries during his rule and now he had used Masjid-e-Nabwi for his politics. The entire planning was done because of Khan, she said.

The information minister said that the new government had put the country on the path of development and in the first phase it ensured fuel for power plants and now it is getting LNG for the country on May 7.

The government had instructed the officials to ensure “zero load-shedding” during Eid days, she said.