Reacting to his son-in-law’s arrest in the Eden Housing scam, former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Thursday denied any involvement in the case and claimed that the arrest was part of government’s propaganda against him. He said his son-in-law Murtaza Amjad had not been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), but by the Interpol.
Amjad was arrested from Dubai on Wednesday in what Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed was a breakthrough in the investigation of the real estate scam that has left dozens of plot holders swindled of their money.
Iftikhar Chaudhry insisted that Amjad had nothing to do with the Eden Housing scam, saying that he was a Canadian citizen who seldom visited Pakistan. The former CJP insisted that the PTI government was spreading propaganda against him because he had challenged Prime Minister Imran Khan’s election in court.
Chaudhry further said that high courts in Islamabad and Peshawar had already issued notices to PM Khan, adding that he was also considering to file a disqualification case against the premier in an election tribunal. Responding to Fawad Chaudhry’s statement that former CJP gave relief to the owners of the private housing society because they were the in-laws of his daughter, Iftikhar Chaudhry said it was a lie and said that he would file a case against the minister under Article 62.
He also criticised the government’s austerity drive, saying that the country cannot be run by selling clothes, cutlery, and buffaloes. “Those who claimed that they will not beg for loans are now looking forward to negotiations with the International Monetary Fund,” he said.
He also claimed that the courts had adopted a ‘lenient approach’ towards former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf who was facing a treason case.
Published in Daily Times, September 28th 2018.
