LAHORE:Provincial Minister Sabtain Khan has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is not going anywhere as he will show the final card at the last stage in the present political scenario.
Talking to media after attending a case at the accountability court here on Thursday, he said that disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members could come back on moral ground. Anything could happen at the last stage, he added.
While responding to a question, he said that Pervaiz Elahi would become chief minister Punjab and he would secure 195 to 200 votes.
Meanwhile, an accountability court on Thursday sought a reply from National Accountability Bureau (NAB) about legal status of the Chiniot mines and minerals reference on an application filed by the Provincial Minister Sabtain Khan.
Accountability Court Judge Sajid Ali conducted the case proceedings, wherein Provincial Minister Sabtain Khan and other accused appeared and got their attendance marked.
A counsel on behalf of Sabtain Khan submitted an application challenging the legal status of the Chiniot mines and minerals reference. He submitted that the approval of the prosecutor general had not been sought before filing the reference, which was a mandatory requirement as per the NAB amended ordinance.
At this, the court sought a reply from the bureau on the application till April 14 and adjourned further hearing.
Besides Sibtain Khan, Salman Ghani, Muhammad Aslam, Abdul Sattar Mian and Imtiaz Ahmad Cheema had been named as the accused in the reference filed by the Bureau. The bureau had alleged that Sibtain Khan exceeded his powers and awarded a multi-billion contract to a firm of his choice during 2007 when he was minister for mines and minerals in the PML-Q government. The bureau stated the company that was given the contract had a paid-up capital of Rs2.5 million only and also lacked the experience required for the project.
It is pertinent to mention here that the bureau arrested Sibtain Khan on June 14, 2019 but he obtained post-arrest bail from the Lahore High Court on September 19, 2019.