Stop Sharifs from flying away

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday wrote a letter to Interior Ministry to place former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and his son-in-law Captain (R) Muhammad Safdar on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Nawaz Sharif is an accused in the Azizia Steel Mills, Flagship Investments and Avenfield properties reference. Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her husband Capt (R) Safdar are accused in Avenfield properties reference.

It is uncertain if the Interior Ministry will implement NAB request or not as earlier it had ignored a NAB request to place Ishaq Dar on the ECL.

In the meanwhile, NAB Rawalpindi filed two supplementary references against Nawaz Sharif, Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz in Al-Azizia Steel Mills & Hill Metal Establishment and Flagship Investment cases.

NAB Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal had also approved to file two supplementary references against former Nawaz, Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz in Al-Azizia Steel Mills & Hill Metal Establishment and Flagship Investment cases. These references have been prepared in light of fresh evidence collected during the investigation.

NAB Rawalpindi DG Irfan Mangi served as member of the Joint Investigation Team constituted by the Supreme Court (SC) to probe Nawaz Sharif’s assets in the Panama Papers case. He also headed the investigating team including NAB Rawalpindi Additional Director Nasir Janjua that has prepared supplementary references in Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investments Ltd cases.

Talking to reporters in Parliament House, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly (NA) Syed Khursheed Shah asked Interior Ministry to place Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and his son-in-law Capt (R) Safdar on ECL.

“If the NAB’s request to place the names of the Sharif family on the ECL is rejected, then NAB had to release Sharjeel Memon and his name also be removed from the ECL,” he said while talking to newsmen here at the Parliament House.

He said everyone should be treated equally before the law. He declared Nawaz Sharif as a hurdle in the implementation of the Charter of Democracy and said that Nawaz made the Charter a joke through Memogate scandal. He said the PPP stood behind Nawaz when his government was in hot waters in 2014 and Former President Asif Ali Zardari has visited Nawaz Sharif’s residence in 2014 under the Charter.

Shah said Nawaz and his opposition leader during the previous government of the PPP opposed amendments in certain laws. “If the Charter of Democracy was implemented then Nawaz Sharif would not have faced such a situation,” he said. He said judiciary was to be bifurcated into two as one for legal cases and other for constitutional issues under the Charter of Democracy in which scenario all issues would have been resolved.

Shah accused Nawaz for creating hurdles in the procedure of appointment of judges in 18th amendment. He said when the PPP asked for the changes in the NAB laws through consensus, the PML-N opposed it. “Why the PML-N’s opposition leader at that time opposed the changes in the NAB. On whose direction he did it. Whether he was aware of what will happen in future,” he asked.

The opposition leader said the PPP had made all-out efforts to resolve the Panama leaks issue through the Parliament and even parliamentary committee was formed on it but Nawaz believed at that time courts of law would be in his favour. “The leader who thinks about his benefit has trapped himself,” he said.

He said only the democratic system is in benefit of the country and it should continue. “If parliament is actively working then there would be peace in the country,” he said.

He said all the state institutions should work under the ambit of the constitution and avoid interfering in others’ constitutional powers.