Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior and Accountability Shahzad Akbar has said that the government is making all relevant documents, judgements and awards in the Broadsheet public on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He shared with journalists copies of judgements against Pakistan in the Broadsheet case during a press conference in Islamabad on Monday.
He said the step is “in line with the premier’s belief that accountability can’t take place without transparency.”
He said the PTI came into power on the slogan of accountability. The prime minister believes that for transparency, the government should make everything public, he added.
Shahzad said two judgements were being made public. The 2016 judgement confirmed that the government of Pakistan was liable to pay Broadsheet and the 2018 judgement was about the amount to be paid by the government, he continued.
He said the government contacted Broadsheet on the direction of prime minister to get written consent on making the documents public.
Shahzad said the government had to pay $21.5 million “is the cost of NROs. Of the amount, $20.5 million was paid because of the Sharif family.” A sum of $1.5 million was paid against the Avenfield apartments and $19 million against other assets of Nawaz Sharif, he maintained.
The National Accountability Bureau and Broadsheet had signed an agreement in June 2000 to find the ill-gotten money of 200 Pakistanis, including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhtto and Asif Ali Zardari, stashed abroad by the NAB during Pervez Musharraf rule. The agreement was cancelled by Pakistan in October 2003 against which the company moved a court in London.
