Shehbaz slams PTI and NAB’s “unholy alliance”

In this file photo, supporters of Shehbaz Sharif, brother of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and leader of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) use their mobile phones to take photos of him during a campaign rally ahead of general elections in the Lyari neighborhood in Karachi, Pakistan June 26, 2018. (AFP)

• PML-N leader claims incarceration part of political tactics, in first public appearance
• Law Minister challenges comments that arrest was initiated by government

ISLAMABAD: Decrying the role played by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in getting him arrested, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, on Wednesday claimed that there was an “unholy alliance” between the anti-corruption body and the ruling party.
Sharif made the comments in his first public appearance after being arrested for his alleged involvement in a housing scam, on October 5. Addressing a National Assembly (NA) session — made possible due to the persistent demands of the opposition and on the instructions of Speaker Asad Qaiser — the PML-N president said that this was the “first time in history that an opposition leader had been arrested without any charges”.
He maintained that the NAB had acted against him a few days ahead of the by-polls but that, despite the “political tactics”, his party had managed to win an impressive number of seats in the electoral contest. He added that he did not want to use the NA as a platform to discuss the merits of his case, even as he quoted a NAB official as saying that there were no corruption allegations leveled against him. He added that he was being framed for using his authority to award a housing contract to the younger brother of former Army Chief General (r) Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
While defending his position in the case, Sharif claimed that the NAB had also accused him of building properties in China, noting that leaders from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had made similar allegations in the past and falsely blamed him for investments in Turkey as well.
“No one needs a proof of their [PTI and NAB’s] unholy alliance after that,” he said, requesting that the lower house of parliament should form a committee to probe the allegation as they can have serious implications on Pakistan’s external affairs.
Responding to his comments, Federal Minister for Law Farogh Naseem challenged Sharif’s assertion that his arrest was made at the government’s behest. “NAB is an independent institution. It exercised its powers on its own. There was no interference,” he said.
He also maintained that the NA was “not a court of law” and could not decide if the NAB inquiry against the PML-N leader was legally right or not, reminding the parliamentary members that it was not within their legal framework to discuss a matter as it was sub-judice.
However, senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader, Khurshid Shah, observed that the parliament was the supreme national institution since it ensures the formation of other state bodies. Shah added that the opposition wanted the government to form a committee and probe the conditions that led to Sharif’s arrest as it was a serious issue.