Daily Times

Condemning in strongest terms a call-up notice issued to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s superior bars on Wednesday urged the PTI government to shun political victimisation of its opponents and focus on public welfare.

The anti-corruption watchdog has summoned Bilawal to appearance before its investigators in Rawalpindi on February 13 in the fake accounts case.

NAB is investigating fake accounts cases against Bilawal’s father and PPP Co-chairperson Asif Zardari, and aunt, Faryal Talpur, who also have the shares in the Zardari Group. They both are among the key accused in a multi-billion rupees money laundering scandal that surfaced last year.

Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, the president of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and Abid Saqi, the Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman, in a joint statement, termed the NAB move as “act of personal victimisation, satisfying the political egoistic revenge of the incumbent government”.

The said the call-up notice is merely a reaction against the PPP chairman’s strong criticism of the government on recent increase in prices of basic food items and the announcement made by him to launch a protest movement against the government’s economic policies. “It also shows the connivance between the sitting government and NAB, apparently so called state institution.”

They further said that the actions being taken by the NAB allegedly on the will of sitting government “clearly shows that NAB is not acting independently and objectively”. Both the leaders stressed that the tactics being adopted by NAB, “in collaboration with the government”, is a strategy to suppress the democratic values in the country.

The NAB had earlier summoned Bilawal on May 17, 2019, in relation to the Park Lane case and later, on May 29, to record his statement in a money laundering case.

A day prior, the PPP chairman had said every sector of Pakistan was facing troubles ever since the PTI had come into power. Criticising senior federal ministers over their absence from the parliamentary session, he had claimed that “the empty seats tell you how much importance the government attaches to such an important issue”.

Bilawal, citing state institutions’ statistics, had said the PTI had turned Pakistan’s situation from bad to worse. “The PBS, State Bank of Pakistan [SBP], and the Federal Board of Revenue [FBR] are confirming this,” he had said.

“These are the facts, Mr Speaker. These are not political statements,” he had added, accusing the government of compromising on “economic independence” in front of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The prime minister should tell us about the corruption taking place in the country,” he had said. “Or he should accept that we say that he is inept, incapable, and selected and will have to go home to provide relief to the masses,” he had added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi today (Thursday).

The chief minister claimed that the leaders of the opposition parties and former President Asif Ali Zardari were put behind bars without any accusations being levelled against them. “Our leaders including PPP leader Faryal Talpur obtained bail from the courts on merit,” he said. Speaking over the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh replacement matter, Shah said that they conveyed five names to the federal government on their request. “We are hopeful that the IGP is appointed from among the forwarded names,” he said. Lashing out at the federal authorities for deductions of eight billion rupees made from the provincial account over non-registration of vehicles, the chief minister said that these 1.4 million vehicles remain unregistered since the establishment of Pakistan.

Speaking over anti-encroachment drive, the chief minister said that they want to implement the court orders but would also keep in view that no poor person is deprived of his household during the drive.

He also lashed out at the federal authorities over hike in prices of basic commodities and said that the prime minister is unaware of the ground realities.