NAB law doesn’t need reformation, but scrapping altogether: PML-N

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-|N (PML-N) leader and former National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said the National Accountability Bureau needs no reformation but scrapping altogether.

He was speaking at a press conference at party’s Secretariat in Lahore, along with PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Pervaiz Malik and the party MNAs from Lahore.

He said the PML-N was not in talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over reformation of NAB. He said the government was giving a false impression as if it is in talks with the PML-N over NAB law and the 18th Amendment, which is a total lie. Ayaz said the nature of the NAB law was such that there was no right way to reform it. It needs to be scrapped altogether, and a new law should be introduced, he suggested.

He said the judiciary needs to be reminded that there are a number of others in the Panama papers who should also be held accountable by the courts. But the buck somehow stops at Nawaz Sharif and all others are conveniently ignored, he regretted.

Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said that at a time when coronavirus was surging in the country, [Prime Minister] Imran Khan was focusing on his NAB-led political victimisation as if it was a vaccine for the virus.

He said considering the partisan activities, persecution of the opposition and protection of the corrupt government, the NAB chairman should formally join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cabinet. He said the notices sent to Shahbaz Sharif, Rana Sanaullah and Balighur Rehman showed the low to which the NAB chairman had stooped as an instrument of PTI's political victimisation. He slammed the imprisonment of Punjab Assembly opposition leader, Hamza Shahbaz, without any charges framed against him.

Ahsan said the government could not devise an effectively strategy to fight coronavirus in over three months and has left the people at the mercy of the fatal virus. The PTI government has itself destroyed the core of Pak economy like a virus. He said instead of severing ties with India at a time when it is butchering Kashmiris, the government made hundreds of millions through non-lifesaving medicines’ import from India.

Khwaja Saad Rafiq condemned NAB Multan's notices to PML-N leader and said it is nothing but political victimisation. He said after witnessing the consequences of persecuting the PML-N leaders, NAB should have learnt that no PML-N leader would change his loyalty through such tactics.

If this is an accountability campaign, why is NAB not equally vigilant regarding the sugar and wheat theft scam, Malam Jabba and foreign funding cases, Peshawar BRT and other cases? Saad said this premature lifting of lockdown when the cases in the country are surging is extremely dangerous step by the government. He said the government should sit down with representative organisations of doctors and reconsider its decision. Pervaiz Malik said NAB was not only a tool of political victimisation but was also destroying institutions which were truly responsible for accountability, like the media. He condemned the arrest and persecution of Jang/Geo Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. Malik said lifting of restrictions at the moment could lead to a total collapse of the healthcare system in the country.