Former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa accused then-Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif of corruption in the Lahore Orange Line Train (OLT) project, claiming that the CM took 45 percent commission from the Chinese company, said senior journalist Hamid Mir.
While talking on a current affairs program hosted by senior journalist Kamran Khan, Mir said that Gen. (r) Bajwa held long meetings with journalists to discuss politics and the economy.
He said that once while talking to five journalists in a meeting in which he was also present, Gen. Bajwa said that Shehbaz Sharif took 45 percent of the commission in the Orange Line Train project. He added that he confronted the former army chief and asked how the project was completed with only 55 percent of the budget. He said he also requested Bajwa to provide documented evidence to prove his allegations.
The journalist said that former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former finance minister Asad Umar was removed from his position on the directives of former army chief Gen. (r) Bajwa.
He said that Asad Umar was holding negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington when Bajwa presented a detailed case in front of journalists to ‘explain’ that Asad is unable to manage the Finance Ministry. As per Mir, Bajwa said that Hafeez Sheikh or Shaukat Tareen should run the ministry so that the economy may get stability, and within the next 24 hours, Asad Umar was replaced.
The journalist said that the IMF was asking Pakistan about the details regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, but Asad Umar was resisting giving information. Mir said that this could be one of the reasons why Asad Umar was removed from his post.
Mir said that PTI chief Imran Khan and the party leaders, during the 2018 election campaign, alleged the rulers were doing corruption in CPEC projects and vowed to conduct an audit if the party came into power.
He said that the then-Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan also used to ask journalists what issues the PTI had with the CPEC.
While talking on a current affairs program hosted by senior journalist Kamran Khan, Mir said that Gen. (r) Bajwa held long meetings with journalists to discuss politics and the economy.
He said that once while talking to five journalists in a meeting in which he was also present, Gen. Bajwa said that Shehbaz Sharif took 45 percent of the commission in the Orange Line Train project. He added that he confronted the former army chief and asked how the project was completed with only 55 percent of the budget. He said he also requested Bajwa to provide documented evidence to prove his allegations.
The journalist said that former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former finance minister Asad Umar was removed from his position on the directives of former army chief Gen. (r) Bajwa.
He said that Asad Umar was holding negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington when Bajwa presented a detailed case in front of journalists to ‘explain’ that Asad is unable to manage the Finance Ministry. As per Mir, Bajwa said that Hafeez Sheikh or Shaukat Tareen should run the ministry so that the economy may get stability, and within the next 24 hours, Asad Umar was replaced.
The journalist said that the IMF was asking Pakistan about the details regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, but Asad Umar was resisting giving information. Mir said that this could be one of the reasons why Asad Umar was removed from his post.
Mir said that PTI chief Imran Khan and the party leaders, during the 2018 election campaign, alleged the rulers were doing corruption in CPEC projects and vowed to conduct an audit if the party came into power.
He said that the then-Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan also used to ask journalists what issues the PTI had with the CPEC.