Skip to main content

Govt forcing NAB, FIA to arrest Shahbaz, says PML-N

ISLAMABAD: The main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has alleged that the government is putting pressure on various institutions to arrest party president and opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif.

Speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club here on Tuesday, senior PML-N leader and former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq, information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb and joint secretary Attaullah Tarrar challenged the government and head of the Prime Minister’s Assets Recovery Unity (ARU) Shahzad Akbar to present proofs of corruption against the party leaders before courts and become a party to the defamation suit that had been filed by Mr Sharif against British newspaper Daily Mail for publishing a damaging and “false” report against him.

“Shahzad Akbar at the behest of (Prime Minister) Imran Khan is pressurising NAB (National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) to arrest Shahbaz Sharif,” said Ms Aurangzeb.

The PML-N’s information secretary asked Mr Akbar to make public the proofs against the arrested party leaders and Mr Sharif, instead of waving “meaningless papers” at press conferences to hide his “embarrassment and deceive the nation”.

Read: Shahbaz won’t file lawsuit against UK paper, says PM’s aide

Ms Aurangzeb declared Mr Akbar a “rented spokesperson” of the PTI regime, saying if he had any “semblance of courage and integrity”, he should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on press conferences and should present the proofs in courts.

“Why did the PTI regime end up in the sewerage drain of Ramzan Sugar Mill after claiming billions in corruption? Why did they need to blackmail and pressure judges into rulings against Nawaz Sharif, if they had such undeniable proofs of corruption against him? Why were they forced to use the age-old tool of political victimisation, the assets beyond means?” she asked.

Ms Aurangzeb alleged that the story in the Daily Mail had been planted by Mr Akbar at the behest of the “selected prime minister”.

She said a number of PML-N leaders like Hamza Sharif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Salman Rafique, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Rana Sanaullah were behind the bars, but the government had failed to prove any corruption charges against them.

She slammed the PTI government for making “fake cases” to silence the PML-N leaders by locking them up behind bars. She said the case against Rana Sanaullah was a “blatant and shameful act” of enormous proportions. She dared the PTI to present the video of the narcotics being recovered from Mr Sanaullah’s car which they claimed to have seized.

She said even a government minister lied on the floor of the assembly regarding the allegations against Mr Sanaullah.

She pointed out that when Mr Sanaullah asked in the court about the video, they had nothing to say.

Quoting Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah that the spokespersons of the opposition leaders should also be arrested, she challenged the minister “to arrest her right now”.

Mr Sadiq said the present “regime” was trying to deceive the nation with false accusations to divert attention from its “glaring blunders” that had brought the country and its people to the brink of total disaster.

Showing the response letter written by the Daily Mail in response to the notice sent by Mr Sharif, the former speaker said the British publication had excused itself from submitting the reply in the designated 14-day period and had sought additional time.

Mr Sadiq said this plea for a delay could only mean that the newspaper did not have any plausible proof to back up its “fictitious story”.

He said the publication presented the story as a piece of investigative journalism and if that investigation was rooted in truth it would not need more than 24 hours to present evidence and prove the story.

According to Mr Sadiq, Mr Akbar said he was a barrister which was strange because he did not know anything about the UK’s legal system which merited a direct notice to the party which in turn triggered the legal suit.

The former speaker also criticised the functioning of parliament, saying that the speaker should not run the house on the dictation of the government.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2019



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2YxsNlS
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trump says he urged team to ‘slow’ COVID-19 testing

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was encouraging health officials in his administration to slow down coronavirus testing, arguing that increased tests lead to more cases being discovered. The president has claimed falsely on several occasions that surges of COVID-19 in several states can be explained by greater numbers of diagnostic tests. At his first rally since the outbreak forced nationwide shutdowns in March, Trump told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma that testing was a “double-edged sword.” The United States — which has more deaths and cases than any other country — has carried out more than 25 million coronavirus tests, placing it outside the top 20 countries in the world, per capita. “Here is the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases,” Trump argued. “So I said to my people ‘slow the testing down.’ They test and they test.” It was not clear from Trump’s tone if he was playing to the crowd, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rouhani calls Imran, discusses resumption of trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday discussed full resumption of bilateral trade, which was halted last month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The two sides stressed the need to reactivate borders and border markets and strengthen trade ties by following health guidelines,” a statement issued by the Iranian presidency on the telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Hassan Rouhani said. President Rouhani had called the prime minister for Ramazan greetings. Border trade between the two countries was suspended after a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), held on March 13, decided to close all borders because of the pandemic. Islamabad partially relaxed the restrictions on April 21, allowing the import of certain food items and provision of petrol and diesel to the border areas. Cargo traffic from Iran was allowed for three days every week. Cargo movement between the two countries takes place through five border crossings — Taftan...
Post a Comment
Read more

Today’s outlook: Sindh CM discusses reopening markets with PM Khan

Here are some of the stories we are expecting to follow today (Thursday): Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will take Prime Minister Imran Khan into confidence over reopening shops and markets across the province. The reopened markets will have to follow SOPs. Sindh Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah will discuss SOPs with transporters for resuming public transport in the coming days. The meeting will be held at the Sindh Assembly building at 1:30pm. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has proposed a price cut of Rs20.68 per litre for petrol in its summary. Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais has said Masjid Al Haram and Masjid Al Nabawi will be reopened for worshipers soon. He said the Kaaba is being sterilised using latest technologies. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar will head various meetings during his visit to Bahawalpur. As of Thursday, Pakistan has reported more than 15,500 confirmed coronavirus cases. ICYMI: An amendment to the National Accountability Or...
Post a Comment
Read more