News Analysis |
The ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has demanded a fair probe into Aleema Khan’s sources of income. Aleema Khan is the sister of Prime Minister Khan who allegedly hid her assets to evade due taxation. Former PM was speaking to media reporters after attending court proceedings in the Flagship Investment reference when demanded the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe into her sources for purchasing the property.
Mr. Sharif further said that the NAB did hold investigations against members of his party, adding that the anti-corruption watchdog should also find out how the prime minister’s sister purchased the property. “Wherefrom did Aleema Khan get a property worth billions in Dubai,” Nawaz questioned, adding that Aleema Khan did not even have any sources of income.
The prime minister’s sister was slapped with a double penalty (taxes and fine) because she did not disclose the said property worth around Rs74 million.
Former PM also said that PM Khan’s sister paid fine for hiding her property which was clearly tantamount to NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance). “Isn’t it an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance)?” asked Nawaz Sharif angrily.
PM Khan has repeatedly maintained that he will never sign any NRO with the corrupt politicians. He also claimed that he was approached by the opposition to not get tough on them and run his government without any serious opposition on the ground. Mr. Khan has, however, rejected the deal and decided to maintain the rule of law and let the legal process chose its own course of actions.
Read more: NAB vs corrupt elite: Who will prevail?
Later in the evening on 28th November (yesterday) media reports have also suggested that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar who is currently on a visit to United Kingdom (UK) has taken up the matter and has directed the court officials to fix a date for the hearing of the case.
It has also been reported that Aleema Khan deposited half the total cost of her previously undeclared Dubai property with tax authorities as a penalty. She paid 25 percent of the total estimated amount of her luxurious flat, “The Lofts East-1406”, in taxes and 25 percent fine charges,” officials had said. The prime minister’s sister was slapped with a double penalty (taxes and fine) because she did not disclose the said property worth around Rs74 million.
According to some legal experts, the SC will initially ask Ms. Aleema to establish the sources of income which helped her buying luxurious, expensive properties in Dubai.
“The said luxurious flat was located in the heart of Dubai, adjacent to Burj Khalifa, the most expensive area in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” added the officials.
It is still unclear that how did Aleema Khan get the property in a foreign country? In her affidavit, Aleema Khan only stated that the Lofts East-1460 was paid for from funds generated from her business dealings overseas. She maintained that the property had already been disposed of and FBR had been informed about the purchase and sale of the said property.
It seems important for the government to let the court take up the matter and independently look into the undeclared property of Ms. Aleema so that everything becomes clear before the public. According to some legal experts, the SC will initially ask Ms. Aleema to establish the sources of income which helped her buying luxurious, expensive properties in Dubai.
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If she fails to convince the court, the top court will probably order to establish a JIT to probe into the matter. Analysts, however, firmly believe that there is no role of PM Khan in the case and he is not likely to be engaged by the FIA or other law enforcement agencies.