<p>Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has admitted forming an offshore company to buy a flat in London over two decades ago to evade British taxes, drawing sharp reaction from his political opponents who criticised him for repeatedly denying possession of any such firm.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Khan, in a dramatic admission, said that he formed an offshore company to buy a London flat in 1983 to evade British taxes, a day after his party officially announced that Imran did not own any such company.<br /><br />"I was already paying 35 per cent tax on my income there, so to evade further taxes, I bought the flat through an offshore firm, which was my right as I was not a British citizen," Imran said at London's Heathrow Airport yesterday.<br /><br />The admission came in the midst of his virulent campaign against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign after his two sons and a daughter were named in Panama Paper leaks as having offshore companies.<br /><br />Panama Papers, a massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents that reportedly exposed the secret offshore dealings of around 140 political figures globally, named three of Sharif's four children -- Maryam, Hasan and Hussain -- listing them as owners of offshore companies.<br /><br />Khan's party spokesperson Naeemul Haq admitted that his party chief had formed a 'legal' offshore company through his earnings from cricket, which owned his London flat.<br /><br />Defence Minister Khawaja Asif criticised Khan for repeatedly denying the possession of any offshore firm.<br /><br />Moreover, Sharif's daughter Maryam, through her Twitter account, termed Khan the "pioneer" of offshore companies.<br /><br />Pakistan's information minister Pervaiz Rashid demanded Khan to quit politics for demanding probe against those having offshore companies.<br /><br />Rashid termed Khan as the "godfather" of those having offshore companies as he was among the first Pakistanis who had this idea of "dodging" tax authorities.<br /><br />"He has lost moral authority to be in politics as now it is established that he was hiding facts," the minister said.<br /><br />He also said that at least six senior member of Khan's PTI own such companies which the highest number of people from a Pakistani political party.<br /><br />"By his own definition of offshore entities, Khan and his party members are involved in white collar crime," said Rashid.</p>
<p>Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has admitted forming an offshore company to buy a flat in London over two decades ago to evade British taxes, drawing sharp reaction from his political opponents who criticised him for repeatedly denying possession of any such firm.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Khan, in a dramatic admission, said that he formed an offshore company to buy a London flat in 1983 to evade British taxes, a day after his party officially announced that Imran did not own any such company.<br /><br />"I was already paying 35 per cent tax on my income there, so to evade further taxes, I bought the flat through an offshore firm, which was my right as I was not a British citizen," Imran said at London's Heathrow Airport yesterday.<br /><br />The admission came in the midst of his virulent campaign against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign after his two sons and a daughter were named in Panama Paper leaks as having offshore companies.<br /><br />Panama Papers, a massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents that reportedly exposed the secret offshore dealings of around 140 political figures globally, named three of Sharif's four children -- Maryam, Hasan and Hussain -- listing them as owners of offshore companies.<br /><br />Khan's party spokesperson Naeemul Haq admitted that his party chief had formed a 'legal' offshore company through his earnings from cricket, which owned his London flat.<br /><br />Defence Minister Khawaja Asif criticised Khan for repeatedly denying the possession of any offshore firm.<br /><br />Moreover, Sharif's daughter Maryam, through her Twitter account, termed Khan the "pioneer" of offshore companies.<br /><br />Pakistan's information minister Pervaiz Rashid demanded Khan to quit politics for demanding probe against those having offshore companies.<br /><br />Rashid termed Khan as the "godfather" of those having offshore companies as he was among the first Pakistanis who had this idea of "dodging" tax authorities.<br /><br />"He has lost moral authority to be in politics as now it is established that he was hiding facts," the minister said.<br /><br />He also said that at least six senior member of Khan's PTI own such companies which the highest number of people from a Pakistani political party.<br /><br />"By his own definition of offshore entities, Khan and his party members are involved in white collar crime," said Rashid.</p>