Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday again skipped National Accountability Bureau (NAB) hearing in assets case citing coronavirus threat.
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said Shehbaz Sharif has provided the required documents to the anti-corruption watchdog. The investigation officers can hold a video conference if they want to interrogate the PML-N president, she added.
On the other hand, NAB expressed dissatisfaction over Shehbaz Sharif’s reply and has re-summoned him on May 4.
It is to be mentioned here that NAB had directed Shehbaz Sharif to appear in assets beyond means case on Wednesday, and had warned of using legal means if he would not cooperate in the probe.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said the repeated call-up notices to Shehbaz Sharif despite submission of detailed response is an undeniable proof of ‘fixed match of the NAB-Niazi alliance’. In a statement, she said the bureau’s ‘premeditated’ response within two minutes of Shehbaz’s submission of a 24-page response shows that NAB did not even read the answers submitted by the PML-N leader. She said expressing dissatisfaction without even going through the response submitted by Shehbaz is a travesty of justice.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said PML-N leadership is a classic example of duplicity and double standards. In a tweet, she said that on the one hand, Shehbaz Sharif while insisting on social distancing is not willing to answer the questions of NAB’s three-member investigation team, while on the other hand, he was insisting on summoning a session of the parliament with presence of hundreds of parliamentarians. “Like two different narratives at one time, their present stances are contradictory,” she remarked.
She pointed out that the PML-N leadership’s position and statements change according to their convenience but they cannot befool the masses anymore. She said the stance of the opposition is strange as they object to the opening of mosques but are eager to open the parliament. She said that it is the prerogative of the speaker to summon session of the National Assembly and the government has no objection on calling the session.
