Sharif govt unleashes offensive against Leghari

ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: Alarmed by reports about former president Farooq Ahmed Leghari’s plans to re-enter active politics, Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif government has launched an all out offensive accusing him of several misdeeds, including misuse of the highest office and contempt of court.Federal information minister Mushahid Hussain, setting “the record straight” yesterday, said Leghari, during his tenure as President, got back 25,000 acres of land in 1995, which were taken over by the government in 1972 as part of land reforms.

“Confessions and revelations” made by Leghari in recent interviews have been extremely disturbing, he said, accusing the former president of “subversion of Constitution” for which, he hinted, legal proceedings could be initiated against him.

“His confessions could be used as evidence if and when legal proceedings are instituted against any of the top players in the recent attempts at subversion of the Constitution and dismemberment of the Judiciary,” Mushahid reportedly said.

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“Since the former president has announced that he intends to come into politics full-time, we have to set the record straight,” he said when asked why all these cases were being talked about now.

Casting further aspersions, he also said nobody has taken possession of the land which Leghari supposedly sold in Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab for which he was paid by a Karachi banker.