LAHORE: In his rare appearance in the Punjab Assembly, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday again lambasted his political opponents for their alleged corruption and usurpation of bank loans.

At the same time he defended his family on the Panama issue. Admitting that Panama Leaks had become talk of the town and were being discussed in the media and parliament, he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s televised address clarified that his name was not in Panama Papers but he, as per the opposition demand, wrote a letter to the Supreme Court to set up a commission to probe the issue.

He said it showed sincerity of the prime minister that he offered his accountability though his name was not in the Panama documents and he also pleaded that his sons would themselves appear before the commission to clarify their position on the matter. Even then, said Shahbaz, the opposition made the Terms of Reference controversial.

Referring to the absence of the MQM from the opposition meetings, he said the opposition was no more united.

Talking about the Sharif family`s assets, he recounted the hard work of his father in establishing the family assets but denied that the Sharifs were among the 22 richest families of the country in 1972.

He recalled that during the 2014 sit-in several political leaders denounced the CPEC project and told the house about the progress so far made on energy and other projects related to the CPEC. Staff Reporter