Kakar and Abbasi ‘spar over wheat scandal’

ISLAMABAD:

Former interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi had a heated exchange, during which the former Prime Minister warned that if he “said everything on Form-47, the party would have nowhere to hide”.

According to people aware of the incident, sparks flew between the two politicians over the wheat scandal at a private hotel.

Abbasi was confronted during an interview with a news channel for blaming the wheat scandal on Kakar’s tenure as interim prime minister.

“Kakar asked Abbasi if he was there to arrest him, to which Abbasi shot back saying he was only telling the truth on the TV show,” the sources said.

According to the sources, Kakar upped the ante by suggesting that a bombshell would be dropped regarding Form-47, insinuating that this would “leave the PML-N red-faced”.

Kakar hinted at possible tampering with Form-47 while speaking to Abbasi, a veiled reference to allegations also made by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose candidates allege rigging in the general elections of February 8.

However, Kakar later clarified that his comments to the media had been taken out of context, saying he was only correcting Abbasi’s erroneous statements about the transitional government’s handling of wheat procurement.

Kakar brushed off rumors of bad blood and said he had amicable relations with Abbasi, adding that he even had a phone conversation with him after the alleged incident of the fight.

He stressed that Abbasi remains his colleague in parliament while firmly denying any truth to speculation of a bitter altercation.