Daily Times

Lawmakers of Sindh have mixed reactions regarding the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Ashiana Housing Scheme case.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Nafisa Shah condemned arrest of the National Assembly opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif. Sindh Minister for Local Government, Saeed Ghani also criticised the PML-N leader’s arrest and termed it ‘an act of revenge’. “Arrest of the opposition leader is an insult of the parliament. The government should refrain from such malicious actions,” opined Ghani.

However, Allama Qasim Fakhri, a Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) legislator lauded the PML-N leader’s arrest. Lashing out on the opposition leader, Fakhri said “corrupt people should be penalised. I believe NAB has done a brilliant job by capturing Shehbaz Sharif.”

Meanwhile, PML-N condemned the arrest of Shahbaz Sharif and tabled a resolution against the arrest in Lahore. PML-N workers said that Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest by NAB was merely ‘political revenge’. The party workers said that they would be protesting against this ‘political victimization.’

Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) former parliamentarian Syed Ali Raza Abidi also commented on the issue. He predicted that the PML-N would win the upcoming by-elections in Punjab swiftly. A MQM-P spokesperson told Daily Times that Sharif’s arrest was not good for democracy. According to him, apprehending the opposition leader was largely being considered ‘political revenge’.

Umer Qureshi, a senior journalist told Daily Times that the arrest was a ploy to build pressure on the opposition ahead of the by-election. “NAB is also investigating several other people, why arrest only one?” he questioned.

Published in Daily Times, October 7^th 2018.