Benazir asks govt to stop harassing Jang Group
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto has asked the government to stop harassing the Jang Group of Newspapers by hounding it through FIA and other security agencies' sleuths.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, she said that it was dangerous to harass and victimise institutions like Jang, as the Sharif regime was doing. She also called upon human rights bodies, members of the legal fraternity and public opinion leaders to take notice of the regime's high-handedness and stop it from destroying the national institutions.
She said no individual or institution could be condoned for evading taxes but if someone owes taxes, these should be recovered by following the legally laid down procedure through relevant courts. She said tax and loan recovery drives would be laudable only if these are launched in an evenhanded manner and across the board without fear or favour.
The opposition leader was of the view that the hounding and victimisation of the Jang Group was aimed at covering up Sharif family's corruption and to send a warning signal to the press throughout the country. She said it must take a lot of gall for a prime minister who himself has defaulted on Rs 10 billion of bank loans and evaded paying personal taxes, to assert that the drive against the Jang Group was solely motivated by a desire to recover taxes.