Daily Times

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif appeared at the NAB office in Lahore on Tuesday where he was questioned for over an hour in the money laundering and assets beyond means case.

Stringent security arrangements had been taken at the NAB office to avoid any untoward incident as PML-N supporters crowded the premises when Shehbaz Sharif reached there.

The development follows an attempt a week ago by the NAB to arrest the PML-N leader from his Model Town residence. After a two-hour-long siege, NAB officials had to return empty handed after learning Sharif is not present there. It came after Sharif was a no show for a NAB summons earlier that day.

Later, the PML-N chief acquired a pre-arrest bail from the Lahore High Court till June 17 against a surety bond worth Rs 500,000. The court was informed that Shehbaz’s arrest warrants in the case were issued on May 28 and he was summoned on June 2. Shehbaz’s lawyer Azam Nazir Tarar had said that they feared that the accountability bureau would try to arrest him again. He was arrested in two cases before and NAB was given his physical remand, the lawyer had said. However, Syed Faisal Bukhari, who was representing NAB, had said that the bureau had only called Shehbaz to ask him questions.

Following the visit of Shehbaz Sharif to NAB office, PML-N leader Ataullah Tarar said,”What was the need to conduct a raid at Shehbaz Sharif’s residence?” He said that the ‘NAB-Niazi nexus has already decided to arrest Shehbaz Sharif’. “The June 2 attempt is a reflection of the nexus,” he said.

Meanwhile, Punjab information minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan referring to an Urdu idiom said that Sharif’s appearance is like ‘a fool having realised his mistake and coming home’.