LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in money laundering and assets before income cases on Tuesday.
Stringent security arrangements were taken to avoid any untoward incident, however, a large number of PML-N workers gathered outside the NAB office and chanted slogans in favour of party leader.
The PML-N workers violated the standard operating procedures (SOPs) designed to control over the spike in the coronavirus cases.
The development follows an attempt a week ago by NAB to arrest the PML-N president from his Model Town residence. After a two-hour long siege, NAB officials had to return empty handed after learning that he was not present there. The raid came after Shehbaz did not appear before NAB earlier that day.
Following the PML-N president’s visit on Tuesday, party leader Ataullah Tarar said, “What was the need to conduct a raid at Shehbaz Sharif’s residence?”
Tarar said that the “NAB-Niazi nexus have already decided to arrest Shehbaz” (without a court verdict in the matter). “The June 2 attempt is a reflection of the nexus,” he said.
The PML-N questioned the need of an interrogation at this stage when Sharif had been in NAB custody for 133 days.
“Even today, they made grave accusations and did not submit proof for the same in court,” he said. “Their politics of vengeance has no end […] Were 130 days really not enough?” Tarar continued.
He questioned whether “Imran Khan Niazi who lives in a 400 kanal house” had been asked how much tax he had paid.
“Jahangir Tareen who has been named by the sugar inquiry commission was given a royal farewell as he left for London,” Tarar remarked, adding: “Who gave permission to the one who robbed the country of Rs100 billion to leave the country?”
He said that meanwhile the opposition has been put on the exit control list at the inquiry stage of cases against them.
Meanwhile, Punjab information minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan referring to an Urdu idiom said that Sharif’s appearance today is like “a fool having realised his mistake and coming home”
Chohan said Sharif is “deluded” if he thinks he can “escape the law’s grip”.
He said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and other PML-N leaders are now realising the “inevitable consequences of their actions”.
Chohan said that under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rule, all efforts to bring to heel “corrupt mafia” for accountability will continue “at all costs”.
