Aleem must get bail if big fish can: Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Saturday advocated grant of bail to the PTI senior leader and former minister Aleem Khan.

In a message on the twitter, he wrote that the case against Aleem Khan was less serious and if those who had looted billions could easily secure bail, then a businessman, who faced no allegation of ‘harming’ the national exchequer should also be granted bail.

"It is a common perception that Aleem has been sentenced in a crime that he did not commit owing to the noise created by the opposition," he added.

The minister’s message is apparently in reaction to the Lahore High Court’s decision of suspension of life sentence to the PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi last year awarded to him in the ephedrine case.

A day earlier, the Lahore High Court had also granted pre-arrest bail to the Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills and Saaf Pani Company cases, while the Islamabad High Court extended the interim bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in the fake bank accounts case till April 29.

Meanwhile, talking to a private TV channel, Fawad said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were doing politics on 18th Amendment.

He said the PPP and PML-N leaders, including Bilawal Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz, were trying to rescue Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif from accountability.

The minister said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari favoured Fata development but unfortunately the Sindh government was not ready to give three per cent from the National Finance Commission for its development.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Saturday took notice of Fawad Chaudhry’s statement on Aleem Khan and decided to examine all of his recent and past statements.

In a statement, the NAB spokesman said the bureau will examine whether the minister’s statements about the ongoing investigations were interference in the NAB affairs and efforts to influence the ongoing inquiries and investigations.

“If the NAB, after examination of statements, feels its ordinance and other relevant clauses have been violated, action will be taken according to the law,” he said.

The spokesman said NAB was the main institution eradicating corruption and bringing the looted money back from corrupt elements.

“The NAB has no affiliation with any political party, group or individual and it has proved it through its conduct,” he said.

“The NAB believes in fulfilling its duty as per law of the land,” the spokesman added.

Responding to the NAB statement, Fawad Chaudhry said the anti-graft body was facing a serious crisis of capacity.

In a tweet, the minister asserted that granting bail was not NAB’s prerogative and wondered how it would handle serious cases.

“Have been busy whole day in my constituency and this masterpiece remained out of my sight. This attitude gives an idea that how serious crisis of capacity the NAB is facing that they don’t know even this that to grant bail is not their prerogative and then how was it meddling in their affairs,” he maintained, referring to his earlier tweet, which was widely debated and flashed in the media.

The minister continued that instead of issuing useless statements, the NAB should focus on its job.