ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar Wednesday said the agreement between Pakistan and Switzerland on sharing of bank accounts details was signed and ratified and being implemented since 30th November.
Speaking at a press conference, he said the agreement with Switzerland to gain information about foreign bank accounts of Pakistanis was a great achievement. He said the previous governments deliberately avoided signing a MoU with Switzerland.
Pakistan would start getting information about bank accounts of its citizens from Switzerland within two weeks time, he added.
Shahzad Akbar said it was essential to understand the framework of the treaty to make the exchange of information possible.
He said Switzerland was the country which kept information of bank accounts highly confidential, however, now they had agreed to share the data according to the provisions of the treaty.
Agreements for exchange of information about bank accounts with other countries would also be signed but it would take some time, he added.
He lamented that six years were wasted in the ratification of the treaty, adding the government was also in contact with the German government for the sharing of bank accounts information.
Shahzad Akbar said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spent Rs250 million on his 25 private visits abroad on government expense and the case was referred to National Accountability Bureau which would investigate the misuse of authority.
Sharing details, he said Sharif visited Jeddah on a private visit for offering Umrah with 28 people and the money was spent from national exchequer. He said, similarly, he went on private visits to the United Kingdom, China, and Saudi Arabia.