Daily Times

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team on Monday questioned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for more than two-and-a-half hours over the purchase and alleged illegal use of more than 30 bulletproof government vehicles, a private TV channel reported.

Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Nawaz’s daughter, confirmed the investigation by the four-member NAB team at the Kot Lakhpat jail, where the former prime minister is being held since December 2018 after his conviction in the Al-Azizia corruption reference.

The ongoing inquiry by the anti-graft watchdog pertains to alleged illegal use of 34 bulletproof cars that were purchased from Germany without duty for guests of the 19th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit in 2016.

According to NAB, Nawaz had subsequently added 20 of those 34 cars to his own motorcade and he, as well as his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, used the vehicles for their personal use as well. It further noted that the statement of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the former prime minister and a PML-N member, had already been recorded and that Fawad Hasan Fawad and the former foreign secretary had also been questioned in this regard. The NAB maintained that the officers associated with the foreign ministry also went beyond their authority with regard to the bulletproof cars.

In a message on her Twitter account on Monday, Maryam rubbished the investigation, pointing the finger at ‘fake Prime Minister’ Imran Khan who, according to her, used the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s helicopter for personal use but was above the law. She said the only case left is to prosecute Nawaz Sharif for being voted in as prime minister of the country.