Summary NAB is abusing its authority and defaming and harassing individuals over false allegations: PM
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
BAHAWALPUR- Speaking at a Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N) workers convention here, Prime Minister Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is abusing its authority and defaming and harassing individuals over false allegations.
Prime Minister warned NAB that it must act responsibly; saying that its abuse of authority and harassment of innocent people raises serious concerns. He said a proper check must be put on NAB’s operations as its defamation of innocent people is unacceptable, “I have also spoken to Chairman NAB and conveyed my concerns”, he added.
Addressing the convention, he boasted about the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) saying that government has brought back foreign investment in the country. He said that 46 billion dollar investment by China is a proof that conditions in the country have improved for businesses. He added that if it weren’t for government’s hands tied by unnecessary regulations, the development work would have increased by manifold.
He went full wrestling heels on his opponents, particularly criticizing Pakistan’s Peoples Party (PPP) for poor performance in their tenure, holding them responsible for the menace of terrorism and load shedding in the country.
He also took a dig at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf saying that who chant “seven point agenda” have failed at every attempt to topple government.
Reaffirming his love for roads, he said that the work on Motorway, that will connect Karachi to Lahore, is under progress. He reinstated his plans to link Pakistan with Central Asia through the vast network of roads saying that roads bring people closer. He said only his government has taken steps to expand the road networks in the country to connect the downtrodden regions with the rest of country.
Prime Minister sang about his personal virtues as well saying that he has never lied. He said that his years in exile have deprived the country of the development, adding that during his reign, Pakistan was on its way to becoming a strong and developed nation. He said the continuation of democracy is the solution to the most problems of the country,
During his visit to Bahawalpur, Mr. Sharif announced that Rs. 600 million will be released tomorrow for the beautification and up-gradation of Bahawalpur Lake. Next year, 3 projects will be launched that will add 3600 Megawatts (MW) electricity in the system, he announced.
Prime Minister’s remarks about NAB have caused a stir, tempting opposition leaders to respond, who have declared his “warning” to NAB as an attempt to frighten the officials who are probing corruption cases against government.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is one of the country’s most important institutions entrusted with rooting out corruption. On one hand NAB comes under intense pressure by the opposition parties for its lenience toward investigating cases against government, and on the other hand if they do dare scrutinize such cases, they get scolded by the highest officials in the government.
Previously, the National Accountability Bureau had provided the Supreme Court of Pakistan with a total of 150 ‘mega corruption’ cases worth billions of rupees. The documents provided include corruption cases against the likes of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and many other prominent personalities.
Earlier, NAB was heavily criticized by Justice Amir Hani Muslim who questioned the recent hiring made by NAB and asked for the total number of people who are working at senior positions in the bureau. Justice Amir criticized NAB for misusing the ‘plea bargain act’ and questioned the Chairman NAB for the credibility of the act used by the institution as a process of consolidation in major corruption cases.
