ISLAMABAD: Eng. Raja Qamarul Islam, a contesting candidate belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), is a victim of political vendetta to bar him from the electoral scramble, his brother Maj (retd) Tariq Bashir Raja alleged.
Talking to The News, he said, “We won’t act like Zaeem Qadri.” Qamarul Islam is in the electoral race against former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in NA-59 Rawalpindi. Tariq Bashir Raja said and he and Qamarul Islam’s three children – two daughters and one son – will run his election campaign and would try not to let his absence from the scene feel to the voters.
Meanwhile, a video clip of the detainee’s minor son, Salar Islam, became viral on the social media with his daughter also showing her presence on the micro-blogging website, Twitter. The boy, who had gone with his father to Lahore when Qamarul Islam had appeared before the NAB team on Monday, narrated how he waited for hours there to finally know that his dad has been arrested. He also announced to deposit the PML-N’s tickets for his father with the returning officer on Wednesday.
Tariq Bashir Raja said his brother runs two private schools from where he earned his livelihood. “Politics has not been his bread and butter.” He said Qamarul Islam has always been in touch with his constituents over the past ten years during which no corruption allegation was ever leveled against him.
The brother claimed that Qamarul Islam’s only crime was that he, through negotiations, brought down the bid amount to Rs980 million from Rs1.18 billion for the clean water company. “The NAB alleged that the rules did not allow such talks.”
Tariq Bashir Raja said that a month back Qamarul Islam was called by the NAB and handed over a questionnaire. He was asked to fill it and send to the NAB through courier service that he did. Later, he was called to appear on June 20 but he told the NAB that he can’t because of being busy in the election campaign. Subsequently, he was ordered to produce himself on June 25 and he obeyed it. He was then arrested. The brother announced that he, accompanied by Qamarul Islam’s children, will hold publicrallies during his election campaign in NA-59 and PP-10 constituencies which he was contesting. The NAB’s swooping down on Qamarul Islam has raised questions.
First question is why was Qamarul Islam apprehended just a day after he was finally awarded the PML-N tickets for the national and provincial seats? Two, if the NAB investigation against Qamarul Islam was at an advanced stage where the anti-graft watchdog had detected corruption against him, why he wasn’t detained sometime back.
Three, if the claims made by Qamarul Islam’s brother are attached any credence, he was arrested on the basis of the answers given by him in the questionnaire by the NAB.
Four, generally the NAB carries out repeated interviews of persons accused of involvement in corruption, and arrests them only after it believes it has got some credible proof against them. In this case, it wasn’t done.
Qamarul Islam has been member of the Punjab assembly for ten years, and his name never cropped up in any questionable deal. He was apprehended when the time for filing nomination papers by the candidates has expired and the PML-N can’t nominate someone else in his place.
He was never registered or known in the national politics. He shot into prominence after the PML-N fielded him against Ch Nisar in a high profile clash. In the last elections, he had a huge lead of 41,000 votes over his rival in the race for the provincial seat.
Chaudhry Nisar has denounced Qamarul Islam’s arrest and said that the election could become controversial due to it. After the development, a debate quickly started whether it would benefit or damage Chaudhry Nisar and Qamarul Islam. It is anybody’s guess for the moment.