Daily Times

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that the National Accountability Bureau has committed contempt of court by defying the orders of the chief justice of Pakistan by releasing an anonymous application to the media.

Talking to the media outside a NAB court, she said that Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had clearly issued orders that no details of any case be released to the media before any inquiry is completed and a reference is filed.

She requested CJP Nisar that he should act to enforce the order and punish the NAB for violating such direct and unambiguous directives.

“Is there any law and order in this country to guard respect of public leaders and politicians or are we living in a lawless land? If NAB is so bent on respecting the sanctity of the anonymous applicant why the bureau not feel does oblige to guard the sanctity of my respect and honour? What motives and stimuli were so uncompromising that the NAB had to violate direct orders of the supreme judiciary? What gave NAB the power to deprive a law abiding citizen of their basic constitutional right to a fair trial under Article 10-A?” Marriyum questioned.

Condemning the recent spree of what she described as baseless mudslinging at politicians, Marriyum said that she was always open to accountability but warned that she wouldn’t let anyone berate or even think about insulting her. Marriyum said that she would gain even more credibility from the ‘frivolous smear campaign’.

Slamming the PTI government, Marriyum said that the government was trying to sell the NRO narrative as a distraction from their disastrous rule. “However, they know that people have rejected this narrative and have understood the inability and incapacity of this group of corrupt, naïve and incompetent individuals masquerading as the so-called ambassadors of change.”

The former information minister said that Imran Khan had destroyed the national institution for accountability by infiltrating and influencing it and said that this tactic wouldn’t work for too long.

Reacting to the press conference of Punjab CM Usman Buzdar, she said that the chief minister should tell how many cabinet meetings had he chaired all by himself without being overshadowed by someone.

She said that the CM Punjab needed to answer when would South Punjab be made a separate province and when was he planning to hold a presser for this announcement. She said that the people are anxiously waiting to see CM Buzdar actually do something substantial. Marriyum said that people have no interest in demolishing the walls of Governor House but are interested in knowing what the CM would do to help them build the walls of their homes.

Published in Daily Times, December 14^th 2018.