PTI’s ‘isolated’ leader Jahangir Tareen arrived in Lahore on Friday after spending several months in the United Kingdom. He was accompanied by his son Ali Tareen. Earlier this year, a sugar inquiry commission — formed on the directives of the premier to probe the rise in the price of the commodity — had revealed names of many bigwigs, including Tareen, who had allegedly benefitted from the crisis.
Tareen — a close confidant of Prime Minister Imran Khan — had ‘quietly’ departed for London in June despite being a prime suspect in the sugar scam. Speaking to the media upon his arrival at Allama Iqbal International Airport today, Tareen said he went abroad for medical treatment. “I have been going abroad for this purpose for the past seven years,” he said.
When asked about the allegations leveled by the opposition regarding his business and his departure to the UK, he replied: “The opposition has only one purpose, it only points fingers at others.” He added that he did not feel that there was a need to respond to the opposition. “Thanks to Allah, my business is clean,” he added.
Let me state for the record that JDW is NOT part of the petition against GOPb notification to start sugar Mills on 10th Nov. All of my mills, including those in Sind will start crushing on 10th. Will play my part in helping the Govt overcome the sugar shortage and price hike
— Jahangir Khan Tareen (@JahangirKTareen) November 6, 2020
Taking to Twitter shortly after his arrival, he said: “All of my mills, including those in Sindh, will start crushing on November 10. I will play my part in helping the government overcome the sugar shortage and price hike.”
The PTI leader’s departure had prompted a backlash from the opposition. The PML-N had raised questions over Tareen being allowed to leave and had accused the premier of pursuing “selective accountability”.
Meanwhile, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which is probing the sugar scam, had sought a reply from Tareen and had summoned him for investigation. Initially, he had rejected the summons. Later, he asked the agency for more time to respond to its queries, adding that he would appear before the FIA once he returned.
The FIA has sought details of Tareen’s assets in Pakistan and abroad, his bank transactions, especially the transfer of money abroad, bank accounts of his family members and his employees, and sugar-related transactions of his firm JDW.
A source close to Tareen had told that the FIA had been activated against the business magnate by a powerful adviser to the prime minister and a bureaucrat following the premier’s interview in which he had talked about the tycoon’s services for the party.
The premier had expressed the hope that Tareen would come clean of the charges he was facing in the scam.