NAB won’t be allowed to act in Punjab to please anyone: Sana

Khursheed says when Bureau lays its hands on Punjab, govt gets annoyed

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Wednesday, welcoming the engagement of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Punjab, said the Bureau would not be allowed to carry out its activities in the province just to please certain elements. He stressed that any activity should be based on solid and tangible evidence.

Talking to reporters at the Punjab Assembly, he said any NAB action if launched to please certain circles was not acceptable. The Bureau, he added, could not prove anything in the Nandipur Power Project, while undue hue and cry was being raised against the Orange Line Train Project.

To a question, Rana Sana said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s comments on NAB should be taken in a positive manner as those were meant for the good of the agency. He said the prime minister had the authority to direct NAB if required.

Rana Sana urged different sections of society to draw a positive conclusion from the premier’s statement on the Bureau’s working. “The prime minister has called for the strengthening of NAB.” He said the prime minister in no way was responsible for the shortcomings and mistakes committed by different institutions.

Rana Sana said the references filed against the prime minister were baseless, adding that no corruption could be proved against him in those references which were filed in 2002 during the Musharraf era.

The provincial minister said the Nawaz-led PML-N government had always opposed all kinds of political victimisation.Responding to a question, he said all the development projects initiated during Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government were transparent. The Punjab chief minister, he added, was not responsible if some technical faults hindered the progress of the Nandipur project.

To a question, Rana Sana said there was no organised group of Daesh in the country and law enforcement agencies had launched an effective and comprehensive operation against terrorists.Responding to another query, he said the Rangers could be called out in aid of the law enforcement agencies in Punjab, if a need arose in future.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said when the NAB put its hand on the Punjab, the government got annoyed. He said the prime minister should have made the statement about the National Accountability Bureau in parliament or a cabinet meeting instead of a public meeting.

Talking to newsmen at the chamber of the Opposition Leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan here on Wednesday after chairing the PAC meeting, he said he and the prime minister had agreed on the appointment of Qamar Zaman Chaudhry as the NAB chairman after consultation on the basis of his reputation with the hope that he would bring down corruption in the country with an equal-handed treatment. “It was my own thinking how I could malign the head of the department who was appointed with my consultation,” he said.

The opposition leader said that parliament was being bypassed while taking major decisions either it be the foreign visits of the prime minister or LNG deal that was recently signed. “The prime minister should come to parliament to take it into confidence on important issues,” he said.

Syed Khursheed Shah said it seemed that they had not learnt the lessons from the past. He said if the prime minister had less power than that enjoyed by the slot in 1991, he should tell parliament why the prime minister was not as powerful now as he had been in 1991. “We are democratic people and will help him,” he added.

He said statements began pouring in as soon as the NAB turned its focus towards the Punjab. “We are not saying that innocent people be persecuted. However, the corrupt elements, regardless of where they may be, must be taken to task,” he added.

He said the political parties had reservations as to why no action was being taken against corrupt elements in Punjab. “The parties were of the view why the NAB was only active in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

The opposition leader, without mentioning anyone, said that it had become clear from the statement of a Punjab minister that NAB was being prevented from entering the largest province of Pakistan.

Criticising the modus operandi used by the NAB as flawed, Khrusheed Shah said the Bureau began its action by inviting and arresting the suspects. He said the right way for the NAB would be to first complete its investigation and then hand over the charge-sheet to the court concerned.