Who was Maqsood, the peon mentioned by Imran Khan to corner Pak PM Sharif
Maqsood Ahmad, also known as ‘Maqsood Chaprasi’ has been often mentioned by the former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his party PTI to corner the prime minister over corruption charges, alleging that Shehbaz Sharif and his sons laundered billions of rupees using Maqsood’s bank account.
Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Friday demanded an independent probe into the death of Maqsood Ahmad, a peon who was considered a central figure in the alleged money laundering case against prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz, PTI reported.
Shehbaz and his sons — Hamza and Suleman — are the principal accused in the case, while 14 others are co-accused in the money laundering case. Both Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza are on pre-arrest bail in the case till June 11.
“It is very disturbing news. Those investigating the Sharifs or witnesses in their cases are dying suddenly. First, Dr Rizwan died suddenly. And now Maqsood Chaprasi, an important witness, in this case is also no more,” PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry tweeted.
Maqsood Ahmad, also known as ‘Maqsood Chaprasi’ has been often mentioned by the former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his party PTI to corner the prime minister over corruption charges, alleging that Shehbaz Sharif and his sons laundered billions of rupees using Maqsood’s bank account.
Here's all you need to know about Maqsood, whose name continues to echo in Pakistan's politics even after his death.
1. A peon by profession, Maqsood worked at the Ramzan Sugar Mills belonging to the sons of Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Federal Investigation Agency had found three billion Pakistani rupees in his bank account.
2. The Pakistani probe agency had said that Maqsood, who worked as a tea boy and peon at the mills, had last drawn a salary of twenty five thousand Pakistan rupees in 2017 before fleeing to UAE on March 14, 2018. The agency said three billion Pakistani rupees were transferred to seven fake accounts opened in his name.
3. The probe agency had termed Maqsood as the main figure in the case against the Sharifs. The peon was a co-accused and a proclaimed offender in the money laundering case against Shehbaz Sharif. He reportedly left Pakistan before the Imran Khan government came to power.
4. Maqsood had died in UAE on June 9 due to unknown reasons as per the local authorities. However, media reports said he died of cardiac arrest. FIA special prosecutor Farooq Bajwa said that Maqsood was a suspect and not a witness, thus his death will not affect the case. Imran Khan's party PTI has demanded the death to be probed as it is the second death of a person involved in the case against the Sharif family.
5. The federal agency's Lahore unit director Muhammad Rizwan had died of a heart attack in May. The investigator had gone on a long leave before the formation of Shehbaz Sharif government.
(With PTI inputs)
