LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah Khan on Thursday said that the reason behind the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s move to introduce the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance 2019 was to “protect people in the Malam Jabba and Peshawar BRT cases”.
Speaking to reporters, Sanaullah said the country cannot be run by filling the jails with opposition politicians.
The senior PML-N leader spent an extended stint behind bars after the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) nabbed him while he was allegedly in possession of 15kg of heroin.
Arrested on July 1, Sanaullah was released last week on bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) after the bench questioned the prosecution’s evidence and remarked that Sanaullah may have fallen victim to a political vendetta.
“The NAB Amendment Ordinance should have been introduced as a bill,” Sanaullah said, referring to changes made to the anti-corruption bureau’s jurisdiction by the government, which are now being seen by the opposition as a move to protect the influential.
The PML-N stalwart said NAB had questioned him about his income and assets. Sanaullah said he was given a ‘detailed’ pro forma which sought information on how he had acquired his current assets.
He also spoke about the amendment in the Army Act, saying that his party had decided to support it “in the larger interest”.
He said all leaders of the PML-N stood behind the party’s decision to support the amendment, which seeks to make future extensions for army chiefs airtight and beyond the purview of the courts.
