NAB silent spectator to corruption under PTI govt: Abbasi

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday regretted that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had turned a blind eye to ‘corruption’ being done during the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) tenure, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

Talking to the media outside the Accountability Court (AC) in Islamabad where he had gone in connection with LNG reference’s hearing, he said that party President Shehbaz Sharif was being politically victimized. “It is strange that while on one hand Prime Minister Imran Khan calls Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman ‘Maulana Diesel’ and on the other he reaches out to his party leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri in connection with the Senate elections,” he wondered.   

Abbasi alleged that the prime minister had won the vote of confidence only due to the support of country’s intelligence agencies.

He said DG ISPR had, on several occasions, made it clear that army was neutral in politics. “But what happened in the Senate elections and later when PM Imran won the vote of confidence from the National Assembly (NA) belies his claim,” he opined. 

He said he was contemplating writing a letter to DG ISPR in this connection. 

PML-N leader said it was a shame that Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who is the minister for finance in the PTI government, had been rejected by members of the National Assembly (MNAs). “And this man has no shame that he is still clinging to the ministry,” he remarked. 

He further said there was no provision in the constitution under which a prime minister could himself move the summary for seeking vote of trust from the lawmakers. 

“Today, parliamentary system has collapsed. The government is itself indulged in horse trading,” Abbasi said, and accused the prime minister of distributing funds among MNAs in a bid to win the Senate elections. “Is not it a bribe?” he questioned.   

PML-N leader said it was up to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership whether to bring vote of no-confidence at Centre or in Punjab. 

He said nobody had any knowledge as to what progress had been made in the Broadsheet case.  He said that PM Imran had the habit of threatening all opposition leaders. 

Contributed by Umar Farooq