Salim Mandviwalla says will expose NAB locally, globally

ISLAMABAD: Senate Deputy Chairman Salim Mandviwalla on Sunday lashed out at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and announced to expose the NAB not only nationally but also internationally.

“The Senate will hold the NAB accountable as so far no one had made the NAB accountable, and I will expose the NAB not only before the Senate’s Human Rights Committee, but also before the ambassadors as well as in all parliaments of the world that how NAB was violating the human rights,” he said while addressing apress conference here on Sunday with representatives of the civil society.

In a hard-hitting press conference on Sunday, Salim Mandviwalla said, “The narrative that comes out from NAB in the last two days is a different from its original and now their narrative of allegations of anonymous shares in Mangla View Resorts were now missing and focus on plots of Ijaz Haroon.”

He said he will expose the NAB everywhere and he will ensure the NAB was not only blacklisted in Pakistan but also internationally. “If the parliament’s and world parliaments will blacklist the NAB, then it was in Pakistan’s interest,” he said. He said that such tactics were not working and now if the NAB sends a notice to someone, people laugh at their decisions as their actions have no value now, neither in bureaucracy and judiciary nor in the civil society or among business community members.

He said he had already written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan and letter to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will also been dispatched. He said the Senate session would soon be convened to take the NAB harassment and victimisation. “The Senate session will be convened at all costs in which all the harassment, victimisation and deaths in the custody will be examined,” he said. He said the families of those, who died in the custody of the NAB, will also be invited in the Senate Committee on Human Rights. "This is not an issue between Salim Mandviwalla and the NAB but it is between NAB and the Senate of Pakistan and every senator in this country, either from treasury or opposition benches, has consensus to expose the NAB,” he said.

He said the Senate’s move against the NAB is not for a specific individual but against all the injustices that it has committed. "We will not conduct the investigation inside a closed room like them. The trial will be conducted in front of media and facts will be presented in front of everyone," he said. He said the Senate will take action against the NAB and no one would be able to stop the Senate from conducting the accountability of NAB.

Salim Mandviwalla also announced to check the qualification of NAB officers including of NAB DG Rawalpindi Engineer Irfan Naeem Mangi and Investigation Officer (IO) Mudassar, their assets details, assets beyond means and their appointments will also be examined. “We know those who made the investment in Ghauri Town and other places and anonymous transactions will also be exposed and be made them accountable,” he said.

Mandviwalla said he will make all out efforts for amendments in NAB laws with the consensus of the government and opposition. He said he will not hold next press conference alone but with the traders and business community representatives. He said, “We will invite all those, who made the plea bargains with the NAB, in the Senate Committee where they will tell how they were forced for plea bargain.”

To a question, Salim Mandviwalla said he wanted the accountability through democratic system. He said the army is important pillar of society and their act of support the system and contribution in the system strengthens the system. “When Army Chief invited the businessmen they felt strong, when the prime minister invited them for a meeting they also felt strong that they should have to make investment,” he said.

Representative of civil society Syeda Samina Shah said the NAB should not conduct the accountability just for the purpose of political victimisation. She said if the NAB wanted to conduct accountability then it should do it on merit across the board.