ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan declared on Sunday the details of his assets before the media and challenged all political leaders to follow suit, threatening that otherwise his party would resort to civil disobedience.
Speaking at a press conference after chairing a meeting of the PTI’s core committee, he named former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as the party’s vice-chairman. Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed was also present on the occasion.
Mr Khan announced that all members of the PTI would soon declare their assets.
“It is imperative for the country that every sign of corruption is removed and exposing the corrupt politicians by unearthing their secret assets is the first step towards this end.”
It is interesting to note that while declaring his assets, the PTI chief did not give the total value of his assets and the details of his bank accounts. He, however, made an offer that if anyone wanted to check his bank accounts, he could provide the details.
Mr Khan claimed that he only possessed 530 kanals of inherited land at Mian Chunnu and a house built on 300 kanals at Mohra Sharif, popularly known as Banni Gala, in Islamabad.
The cricketer-turned-politician said that he had to sell his flat in London for 750,000 pounds to buy the piece of land at Banni Gala at a rate of Rs145,000 per kanal nine years ago.
He urged President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif to declare their assets.
The PTI chief said he had paid Rs350,000 in tax so far this year.
He backed Mr Sharif’s move of taking the US memo controversy to the Supreme Court.
Defending the entry of politicians into his party, the PTI leader said: “I admit that a number of them do not fulfil my party’s criteria, but rest assured that none of them is joining on an assurance of a party ticket in next elections. Every ticket will be allotted by a scrutiny committee of the party.”
Mr Khan said all his property was in his own name and if any asset except those declared by him was proven to be his, he would quit politics. Some leaders of the PML-N have been accusing him of possessing secret assets.
The PTI chairman clarified that no member of the board of directors of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital received money and the person who had made this accusation was being served a legal notice.
He said he had sold his apartment in London for 700,000 pounds and also showed the sale deed. He said he had bought land in 2002 with this money. He also showed the registry to journalists.
Mr Khan said he had inherited land in Mian Chunnu from his grandfather and two plots allotted to him after winning the 1992 World Cup had been donated to the hospital.
He said he had earned Rs20 million during the last world cup, but the country’s law did not levy tax on foreign income.
In reply to a question, he said Pakistan should pull out of the ‘war on terror’.
Mr Khan requested Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to admit for early hearing Asghar Khan’s petition to expose those who had taken funds from intelligence agencies.
He said his party would provide details of the ‘fortunes’ of senior leaders of other parties and ask them to prove that they were not ill-gotten.
In reply to a question, Mr Qureshi said the Bonn conference had lost its importance after Pakistan decided to pull out. He said a low-level official could have presented the country’s case at the conference.
